


If they only knew

by ginasricky



Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Friendship/Love, M/M, Slow Burn, Soulmate AU, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, also so many social media posts in this, second love prophecy, shared trauma (kinda), since they're like soulmates and shit ya know, soulmateisms are strong with these two, the nabrina teas, the slowburn excellence, the troyella blueprint yup, they outsell, we love that for them - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:34:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 55,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22014181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ginasricky/pseuds/ginasricky
Summary: Ricky Bowen never really bought into the whole soulmate thing (except he did) but life got in the way and now he's sort of pretending to date new (totally not intimidating) girl Gina Porter to win back the one and only Nini Salazar Roberts. Not a single thing could go wrong.orThe one where Ricky and Gina aren't so good at the whole soulmate thing and they fake date.
Relationships: Ashlyn Caswell/Kourtney, Carlos/Seb Matthew-Smith, Ricky Bowen/Gina Porter, Ricky Bowen/Gina Porter/Nini Salazar-Roberts
Comments: 54
Kudos: 173





	1. i. The girl with the tattoo

**Author's Note:**

> Rina nation, or hsmtmts nation, if you're out here reading this I appreciate y'all, just wanna start out by saying that. This story is going to be a combination of a fanfic along with social media au supplements to sort of help guide perspective and plots along the way. I've never even made an au before so pls be kind and tell ya girl how she can improve. I love these two with my entire heart and I'm obsessed with them. Be aware their are jumps in time and the timestamps on the tweets matter to some extent but not really. That's all pls enjoy! give kudos, comment and share <3.

xxx

_Those innocent eyes (eyes)_   
_That smile on your face makes it easy to trust you_   
_If they only knew,_   
_The girl with the tattoo, like I do_

**_East High School_ **   
**_September 9th 2019_ **   
**_8:15am_ **

Its a relatively calm autumn day. The brisk air follows as the leaves swirl colors amidst the madness of teen angst, theater nerds, jocks and skater boi's. East High School was buzzing as everyone made there way to their respective groups of friends on the first day back. _So much for not sticking to the status quo,_ thought curly haired sophomore Gina Porter walking up to the familiar front doors. All around her there seemed to be someone for everyone...except her. Gina Porter, ever the outsider. A familiar spot on her shoulder, lightly heat flares at the thought almost as mockery to her curse; she feels the beginning of an eye-roll coming.

Yes you heard it right curse. Soul mark's suddenly making appearances in her family had always been bad omens. When normal people find their soulmates there's the urgency, the need, to run to them, be with them and be happy together but for the Porter family it was a _little_ more complicated than that.

The Porters for generations had been subjected to the shakespearean level tragic one sided soulmate. Or if you were like Gina's parents, then the marks never came and you lived a life never knowing who your soulmate was. Don't get her wrong Gina's parents were content, at least for the short while they had before her father died but unlike any other kid with soulmates for parents there is always the doubt. The startling clarity that there is someone in the world better suited for them, meant for them and they couldn't be found because her family was cursed. It was safe to say she wasn't very happy when all of a sudden on an already hot summer day in June in sunny California she felt a heat on her shoulder that took her breath away. The product of that being a soulmark the size of a thimble with the presumed initials _RB_ spelled on her skin.

 _It looks alot bigger in person than it does in the movie_ , she swallows down nerves at the thought, looking away from the students and to the overarching building above her. Shaking her perfectly coiffed head of curls with reassurances, _nope Porter you've done this a hundred times come on you are not getting nerves here of all places._

Gina had moved many times in her life. To so many different places, she would be lying if she said it wasn't rainbows and sunshine in all of them, I mean who wouldn't want the chance to travel to a bunch of different places. Some people don't even get to leave their homes for half their lives. Which doesn't sound so bad if you have people to share that life with not just youtube tutorials and youtubers pretending to be your friends in order to get Adsense money.

So for right now Gina Porter's main focus is on being the best because as her mom always said "if you can't be the best at something you shouldn't do it." Which totally isn't at all tiring or exhausting.

And that's when she see's it. Now walking into the halls of East High with her head held high (the mean streets of New York taught her something's for one or two years), focused on getting to the administrative office she almost misses it. The sign up sheet for the latest musical in the school posted on the wall. High school musical the musical, _oh it's almost too easy._ The curly haired girl thinks with a resigned smirk, there's hardly anyone on the list. _Like they'd be much competition anyways._

Gina maneuvers her book bag to her side without taking her eyes off the sheet, takes out her pen and right as she's about to mark her spot a tiny brunette suddenly finds her way in front of the paper.

"EJ!" The small girl calls out, Gina blinks at her sudden appearance.

"Sorry my boyfriend kinda just _pushed_ me in to signing up, you can go ahead." Nini says as she sends a small glare his way, the tall jock's hands raise in his defense.

"What?! Just a little encouragement. Go on sign up babe."

"How about I sign up because I was here first??" _Seriously dude,_ Gina thinks suppressing the eye roll as she finally signs her name into a slot on the paper. She's about to turn back to find the administrative office again when she hears the tiny girls voice almost call out to her, "oh Gabriella huh cool part, I-I'm auditioning for that too."

_Aww she's adorable, I'm gonna kick her ass at auditions._

Gina paints on a pageant smile, "That's so cute. Have you ever played a lead before?"

EJ squints at the question and puts his arm around Nini almost protectively, "Well I-"

"She actually played the lead in our theater summer camp production."

"Well I was originally the understudy but then the actual lead got sick and I stepped in."

"And did amazing" EJ interjects, looking to Nini adoringly.

"Thanks babe." Nini softly looks back. _Yep gonna be sick if I stick around for more of this,_ Gina nearly takes her sly exit and turns. Only to be met with the dreaded question she's been asked all her life: "Are you new here? I don't think I've ever really seen you around?" The letterman jock asks her with curious eyes.

Turning back she responds, "Yep."

"Oh w-well I'm Nini and this is my boyfriend EJ, which you probably got from the whole board blocking thing."

"Yea I did. Great technique by the way hope your auditioning for Troy with that arm." The couple laughs and Gina lets her self crack a small smile.

Her smile fades as quickly as it comes when another voice enters the vicinity, "Hey Nini there you are girl, you signed up yet? I've already started a look book for the costumes and there's just no going back for me now."

Nini smiles, "Yea I just did. Oh Hey Gina um this is Kourtney, my best friend and the greatest person with the best fashion advice and advice in general that anyone could ever ask for." As she's singing Kourtneys praises, they shake hands.

"This is Gina she's new here and she's auditioning for Gabriella too." Kourtney fully turns to Gina, and nearly sizes her up. _Huh don't know whether I love her or hate her._

"Ohh the competition." Kourtney remarks, eyebrow raised.

"You know it." Gina sassily responds, raising one back. And she can tell Kourtney's made up her mind about her.

"Yeah, your sitting with us at lunch today." Kourtney proclaims, Nini's eyes widen in surprise. "Kourtney I'm sure Gina probably has plans or something for lunch we should at least ask-"

"I do actually have plans for lunch but thanks for the invitation, I might take you up on that." _She seems cool,_ Gina concludes.

"Come Nini on the bells gonna ring soon." EJ says nearly startling Gina, _He didn't leave yet?_

 _"_ It was nice to meet you, good luck at auditions." Nini gives her a small smile.

"See you at auditions _."_ Gina replies with a nod, _that role is mine_.

xxx

**_East High School_ **   
**_September 9th 2019_ **   
**_12:37pm_ **

"Babe?? Did he just fucking call her babe?" Ricky Bowen was practically buzzing at the scene, leg fidgeting along with his hands, touching the lunch tray. The scene being Nini Salazar Roberts, his girlfriend (that he took a **temporary** pause with sure) cuddled up to water polo jock #4 or something. _Pretending not to know his name doesn't really make it any better,_ a thought persists in his mind but it doesn't entirely sound like him. This happens at times.

In certain points in his life he's heard thoughts at the back of his mind that weren't entirely his voice but all the same familiar to him. When he was younger he used to think he was going crazy until his dad sat him down and gave him the run down on the whole soulmate thing. Because a stranger should definitely have more stake in his life than he does, he nearly snorts at the thought. _Actually maybe they should, maybe my life wouldn't be such a mess right now,_ Ricky thinks with slightly widened eyes. _Shit I'd rather go crazy_ , he groans.

"Dude-" Big Red says interrupting his crisis.

"Can we maybe not look at my cousin snuggling up to your **ex girlfriend** for five seconds please and go back to my thing." The red headed girl at the table responds both boys turn to her.

"Sorry Ashlyn it's just-"

"Yeah I know. You're not over Nini and you don't know how to win her back. But dude it's over, she's with someone else and I know it's only been a month or two but you have to move on." Ashlyn states.

The table goes a bit silent after that and everyone sort of avoids eye contact, big red lets out a sigh.

"Ricky I-" Ashlyn starts apologizing.

"No I'm-yea your right Ashlyn I mean what was I expecting when she was came back from camp? You know it was my fault. I couldn't say...anything to make what happened better." _Just like my parents can't...with each other._ Ricky thinks looking down toward his lunch tray again.

"We have an idea!" Big Red suddenly exclaims with guilty eyes.

"Red no-" Ashlyn replies, Red's arm is hastily found in a vice grip.

"What?" Ricky asks curiously taking note of his friends weirdness.

"Ash look at his face he's so sad and he's getting mopey all the time and it's kinda bumming me out." Big Red ignores his question and directly speaks to Ashlyn.

"Dude-" Ricky says incredulously, his hands pointing to his face.

"I was kidding! It is a terrible plan. Not to mention she's with **my cousin** of all people. I'm not getting involved in this." Ashlyn replies slowly as if to get Red to think out the possible situation.

"Uh hello I'm right here! What the hell are you guys talking about?" Ricky asks.

"What if you were to sign up for the musical to win Nini back?" Big Red proposes.

"Oh God." Ashlyn's hand finds its way to her forehead.

"That's a horrible idea Red. I mean I don't even like musicals. Like what do I expect? to just go up there and show Nini I'm not a flake for this show so I'm not a flake for us?" Ricky jokingly says, shaking his head and then contemplates. _Wait a second..._

Big Red then starts to back track, "well your right it doesn't really seem like a good idea, it was more-"

"Your right Red it's not a good idea, it's a great one. I gotta go watch this movie." Ricky says, already moving fast presumably to get to the library.

"Oh my god." Ashlyn exclaims and releases her head from her hands. She looks to Red who suddenly looks sheepish.

"Yeah admittedly it's not one of my best plans." He says folding his hands.

"You think." Ashlyn remarks, standing up to get rid of the trash. _I need more friends,_ she thinks to herself as she walks to the other side of the cafeteria. Far from the high school drama.

**The Salazar-Roberts Residence**   
**June 25th 2019**   
**8:17pm**

_I think I kinda you know_   
_I think I kinda you know_   
_Like the way that we flow_   
_like the way that we go_   
_And yea I think I kinda you know_

"I do Ricky...I love you". The video loops again but he cuts the audio off and Ricky can see the smiling face and adoring eyes of his beautiful girlfriend waiting for him to say it back in his peripheral. Only he can't focus because the starry lights above her bed that once seemed so calming and serene we're all too blinding now. That voice at the back of his mind went silent, his parents don't even yell at each other anymore and he doesn't know if he prefers the silence.

He has to look at her, "Oh" is all he can really manage to stutter out before all hell breaks loose.

"Oh?" Nini asks, her eyes almost plead. For what he doesn't know or he does but he's afraid of the result.

"I think-I think we need to take a pause."

"You think we need a pause... Ricky what does that even mean?"

"I just think that- ow" he's interrupted mid sentence by a semi-searing pain on his shoulder, only it wasn't blinding or mind numbing just a little mild. Ricky grips his shoulder in pain as he starts to rise from the bed.

"Ricky what's wrong?" Nini hesitantly asks from her position on the bed. She's hugging herself almost like she's protecting herself from the likes of him when they would always say it was them against the world.

"It's nothing I just got like this weird hot flash on my shoulder." He replies turning away from her, rubbing the edges of the pain away.

"Let me see." Nini asks cautiously. "I just wanna make sure it's nothing really bad." She adds reading his still movements.

He's still turned away from her so Ricky can't see her shocked reaction when she peels back the layer of his shirt, over his shoulder. What he does hear is her gasp and a sharp intake of breath, "What? What is it Nini?"

His curiosity takes over claiming the part of his shirt in his hands he sees the product of his temporary pain, black initials written in neat cursive, _GP._

His heart hammers in his chest and he wishes it was just from nerves at the current situation but there was also apart of him that just took the biggest sigh of relief in the overwhelming sense of completeness. In knowing there was someone out there that understood wholly and completely, and they were a stranger but they knew him.

"Nini I- Are-Are you-?"

"Don't say those words right now! Of all the things to say to me right now don't you dare say my words." Nini says sharply, her arm raised that part of her being the only thing facing him. _you cant say them when you're not mine_ , its almost like he hears it being directly whispered in his ear with the startling clarity of the statement but its not. Its just one of the many things that'll go unspoken between two people that aren't soulmates.

Ricky shakes his head and scoffs _of course this is about soulmates when is it not_.

"Jesus you have the audacity to scoff now. Just what's so incredulous about the situation? Why so over it now?"

"I'm not over it okay. It's because you're really gonna let a phrase written across your ribs and two letters written on my shoulder ruin our relationship we've been in for a year?"

"I believe in it Ricky! I believe in soulmates. I believed that one day maybe when the time was right your mark would maybe show up and it would really make you mine. It would confirm what we already knew. I was stupid enough to believe it even when you didn't say my words when I met you." She's crying now and Ricky's never felt more powerless than when his mom left but this feels like a big contender to that. Of _course_ _I_ _care about you, more than most people in this world even,_ the thought carries across his mind yet feels too heavy on his tongue.

"and its even more real now because you can't even say..." Nini chokes on the words a little and he hates the pain in her eyes. The silence stretches time between them and Nini takes a deep breath. _Please_ _don't let me leave,_ he can't bring himself to say the words in his head.

"You know what I think um, you're right. I think It's better that we take a pause for right now. I think you should go" Nini says a somber finality to her tone.

"Yeah um I'll see you." Ricky nearly whispers avoiding the pain in her eyes. The pain he knows would only be reflected in his, as he clears his throat and closes her door on his way out.

**East High School**   
**September 16th 2019**   
**4:05pm**

_I can't help dreamin' of you_   
_Guess I'm sayin' I don't not love you_   
_You know, you know, you know_

His voice sounds way too familiar for Gina's liking.

They're all nearly to the end of the auditions and this curly brown haired guy with a guitar just runs in really late for the Troy auditions. _Super unprofessional but super intriguing nonetheless and I don't even get intrigued,_ she thinks as she watches him awkwardly act out the lines in Chad's scene. And yet he keeps them all on their toes till the very end with his original song that apparently wasn't so original. If she'd gotten the gossip she'd overheard right then apparently Nini wrote the love song claiming she loved the guy and he had broken up with Nini over the summer, _cold._

Something about his voice was too known to her. Has he been on the radio before or something? Been on youtube?

Either way he delivered an unexpectedly good performance, it would be interesting to play opposite him to say the least. _What was that guys name?_

xxx

**the aftermath**


	2. ii. Greek God

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nini connects the two dots, Carlos is home, Ricky is a disaster, and Gina grows suspicious all the while doing some very out of character things for a day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! So I'm back with another update. I'm kind of overwhelmed at the response this has gotten I wasn't expecting so much so thank you so much for that. I love hearing back from all of you so if there are any questions or comments y'all have about the story feel free to comment them. I know that timing can get confusing with this story because of the timestamps (especially in chapter 3 phew y'all are in for a ride). As always give kudos, comment, and share!

xxx

xxx

**East** **High** **School**  
 **September** **28th** **2019**  
 **11:32am**

_Oh, I don't really care if you like me or not_   
_But I know that you want me to_   
_Oh, anythin' I do, I know you're gonna watch_   
_To rumor up that I'm a fool_

When the cast list is posted the days that follow seem to meld together and it all happens so fast. One day Nini is over the moon at being casted as the lead to then endless days of dance breaks, and read throughs to then it coming to a glittering halt at the realization that it was all a lie. At least over the summer it was, when she got her shot at playing the lead it turns out it was never even supposed to happen. EJ had been behind it all along. Of course she became the understudy by auditioning but it didn't make her feel any less deserving of the role when she actually got to perform. So it takes her back to the cast list. The catalyst to her seemingly endless debates with Ricky the day before in rehearsals.

**"If you really cared about me you'd let someone who really wants to play this part play it."** Nini's words play in her head again as she looks to the cast list thats somehow still there. She meant the words in more ways than one and it hurt. _Maybe I was a little harsh, but I mean what is he trying to do? All of this is so confusing._

**Nini Salzar Roberts- Gabriella Montez**

She can't help but think to herself if after everything whether this whole thing is even worth it. Then at the thought her gaze drifts to another name. _Im sure Gina would love if you did that though,_ the nasty thought springs in her mind and nearly manifests. _Would she?_ Kourtney had taken somewhat of a likening to Gina while her and EJ were nothing but nice when they met, she seemed sort of receptive to a friendship with Kourtney but hesitant to one with her. At the thought of the mysterious curly haired girl her eyes drift to her name on the list.

**Gina Porter- Taylor Mckenssie**

For some odd reason she can't help but think back to that night in June, Nini has to swallow the pain away. She's not really sure why she thinks of that now of all moments. Like she's ever needed a reason to think about Ricky before (especially with the hurtful things she said to him yesterday) but a part of her mind starts to really think of that moment when things broke. Then that's when it hits her like a weight of bricks she physically feels herself step back. Reeling at a crazy possibility she reads out the name on the slot in her head, _Gina Porter....Gina Porter? G...P?_

_"_ Oh my God, GP. Shit." _I need to find Kourtney_ ** _now._**

However East High seems to have other plans as the third bell of the day signaling the switch into fourth period sounded and the small brunettes wandering (the class was dismissed from third period British lit ten minutes earlier, bless Ms. Mcholoughs old heart) turned manhunt for her best friend stilled for a moment. Students filled out into the hallway as she pushed her way into the crowd to find her best friend who was currently making her way out of AP Calculus.

Nini's sense of urgency transcends her senses as she takes her friend by the wrist and drags her back into the now empty classroom, closing the door. "Nini?!? What the fuck?! I gotta get to AP U.S., W-"

"I just made the weirdest possibility and really wrong assumption/connection like ever and you need to hear it."

"Well what is it?"

"I think- I um well-"

"Spit it out! we're gonna be late to Keller's class and you know he lives for making people's lives hell"

"I think Gina is Ricky's soulmate."

Kourtney's jaw hit the floor, at the chance of finally allowing the words to be said aloud Nini's eyes widened hearing how it sounded. A beat of shock and disbelief pass between them, so they do what all teenagers do upon these types moments with engaged eye contact, they laugh their asses off.

"Girl oh my god of all the things I thought you we're gonna say that was the last on my list. You know what? it wasn't even on the list." Kourtney replies through a fit of giggles.

"I know it sounds crazy okay but like it sort of makes sense like-"

"But how? I'm sorry but I don't think those two have even ever had a conversation?? also I'm failing to see how any of this is your concern." Kourtney says, eyes squinting with suspicious doubt.

"Okay look there's no going around the fact that I know what Ricky's soulmark looks like okay I was there when he got it. Then I was looking at the cast list today and the fact that Gina is new here just coincidentally coming around the same time he gets his mark? It kinda adds up "

"Still not hearing the part about it being any of your business."

"I think we should invite Gina to lunch again today."

"I'ma start getting whiplash at the change in pace of this convo honestly."

"No look I want to-"

"Nini we both have to get to class so for right now Ima just say put a pin in it and text me." _or throw it away entirely cause this shit is crazy,_ Kourtney thinks eyes widening as she adjusts her bag and makes her way to their next class.

Nini fixes the strap of her bag and lets out a resound sigh while making her way to class, "I knew I sounded crazy."

xxx

xxx

**East** **High** **School**  
 **September 28th** **2019**  
 **12:19pm**

Gina Porter's mind was no where near the musical. She thinks that maybe that's why she's now currently sitting three feet away from water polo jock #4, _hey that was my joke._ It's a random thought that invades her mind, like most of the things her soulmate says in her head.

_Shit he's right it was,_ Looking down toward her tray with a soft smile she thinks back to how he shared a similar thought a week or so ago. She shakes her head a bit at the similarity among their lives, _guess there are water polo jocks everywhere huh;_ it's only a few times she actually tries to respond to his thoughts because she knows all too well he probably never hears them.

Gina and her soulmate had never really had a strong telepathic connection, only ever thoughts here and there that would pop up every once in a while. A conversation here and there. Some of the thoughts that would pop up were random, like _really_ random. While others gave her a bit of a glimpse at what was going on in his life. According to her Dad those types of soulmate connections are rare, and with the luck of her family probably has never happened to anyone before. Which is part of the reason she likes to keep this whole soulmate thing close to her and her only, especially not her mother. _No one would really understand._

_'Cause I know what you really want_   
_A little more confidence_   
_This is where it's gotta stop_   
_I'm tired of hearin' it_   
_You're just gonna be a fraud_   
_Oh, we're nothin' but fickle friends_

"Hey Gina you okay?" Nini asks looking to her curiously, Kourtney is next to her and at the question that interrupts her story, she delivers Nini a leveled slight squint, as if to question her for questioning Gina. Ever the outsider, Gina notices this. "Oh yeah I'm fine just thinking about rehearsal later and how that's gonna go." She lies.

The table quiets a little at the reminder of how much of a drama filled mess the theater department has been serving this week. Between Ricky and Nini fighting every other day in between scenes (and EJ totally not being jealous about it, like at all), to seblos finding out their soulmates and Ashlyn's near scheduling conflict with Mr. Mazarra's robotic club meetings and rehearsal's; it's been a hectic week.

"Well yeah it has been kinda crazy. So many things happened this week." Kourtney reply's, _but i'm kinda living for all the tea_ she thinks smugly to herself.

"Can you believe Seb and Carlos are soulmates? Crazy." EJ says. Nini gives him a gracious look, and her eyes lighten at her opportunity. _Ugh if i wasn't so mad at you I could kiss you right now,_ the small brunette thinks. EJ, poor guy, only looks back to her confused yet smiles at the chance of being brought back to Nini's good graces again. They weren't a couple anymore but as long as he kept sitting at the table (and they didn't kick him out like they'd done a couple days ago) maybe there was hope for them.

"Yeah I know its insane right. I mean finding out your soulmates because you've been hearing the songs the other person has heard in your head for like your entire life that's pretty amazing." Nini responds enthusiastically, chancing a look toward Gina. Kourtney gives Nini a look that she poignantly ignores, a look that reads **stop talking**. With all the soulmate talk and the sort of new found tension Gina's just about ready to cringe into her seat but she puts a brave face like she always does.

_'Cause you don't really hate me_   
_(You're a little baby)_   
_You don't wanna end me_   
_(You wanna befriend me)_   
_And it's not surprising_   
_(I can see you smiling)_

"You know telepathically linked soulmates are pretty rare." EJ shares as he eats his fries contentedly, unknowingly adding fuel to Nini's fire. Nini's eyes are alit again while Kourtney rolls her eyes for the up-tenth time that day and sits back into her chair, sighing. _Are you fucking kidd-_

"That's right my moms told me about it once. They also told me that sometimes marks come when ever you and your soulmate meet or are in the same place at the same time. Isn't that cool?" Nini says interrupting her best-friend's thoughts and attitude over the situation.

"Super cool Nini. So what do you think of the whole cos-" Kourtney replies trying to shift the conversation away from an impromptu interrogation on Gina and her soulmate.

"What do you think about soulmates Gina?" _I know this bitch did not just interrupt me,_ Kourtney thinks with widened eyes not only at the audacity but the question itself. Even EJ just sitting there drinking his milk chokes a bit at the abruptness of the question. Gina's expression remains stoic. Her only tell being how fast her expression changed from slightly uncomfortable to cold in a matter of seconds. Suddenly it's like she's taken back to elementary school all over again and all anyone ever talked about was soulmates. But this wasn't 5th grade and Gina wasn't the same girl she was back then.

"I don't really believe in the whole thing." _but...._

_"_ What was that about soulmates being able to share thoughts? I know my dad used to tell me about it before when I was little but I sort of stopped doing that...asking that is."

Nini notices the slight tone of sadness in Gina's voice and softly says, "Oh yeah well my moms told me that it's like a super rare thing. Sometimes it could be like this one sided connection where one person thinks and the other can hear them or it can be like a mutual type of thing where they can both hear each others thoughts pretty clearly. Its super interesting you should look into it, especially if you know who your soulmate is. Or if you even have a mark? Do you?" Nini finishes her rambling and gives her this look, almost as if she's searching for something in the way she'll react to what she's saying or what she's hoping will be said by Gina herself.

Gina contemplates the voice in her head she heard not even fifteen minutes ago, but brushes it aside in the name of keeping face in front of everyone. She's Gina Porter after all. "What about you Kourtney what does your mark look like? If you have one that is." Gina asks, changing the subject and noting her non-complacent body language and overall demeanor since the start of lunch.

"Oh Kourtney's is jus-" Nini stops mid-sentence as Kourtney fixes her another look, this one reads **"interrupt me one more time see what happens"** and it shuts her right up.

"it's no big deal, I got my mark in like the 7th grade and it's a tiny drawing of a sword right above my ankle."

"Cool." Gina says and the tension covers the table like a blanket again. _Thank you Nini_ , Kourtney thinks to herself with her head shaking as she leans back into her chair. Noting she might've gone a bit far with the soulmate talk, Nini tucks a stand of hair behind her ear and clears her throat.

"You know I don't doubt that rehearsal's will be that bad today as long as Ricky isn't tripping over his feet during the dance break." Surprisingly its EJ that breaks the thick mold of tension.

"Ain't that the truth. That boy can sing but dance..." Kourtney points out, shaking her head.

"That's Troy right?"

"Yep, that's Ricky." EJ says bitterly. It's been a week or to two and admittedly it's gotten her a minute to get everyone's names right. People would swear to Gina up and down that it should probably be easier to remember names with all the moving she's done but she swears it's only made it harder. Maybe it would've been a little easier if she'd intervened with some kind of scheme to become Gabriella but for some reason she doesn't think its all that important anymore. _It definitely isn't to mom,_ when Gina shared the role she'd gotten to her mom that night during dinner she was singing her praises about getting the part of Taylor. She wasn't at all the suffocating stage mom she was back when her dad was alive and it felt...confusing. Almost as confusing as the fact that she still couldn't place Ricky's voice for the life of her. 

"Does he sing often? I could've swore I heard his voice before." Gina asks, nearly thinking out loud.

"Really? How?" Nini practically lunges at the question, _she cannot be making this shit up_.

"I don't know it just seemed familiar. Does he do Youtube or something?" At this response Nini looks to Kourtney conspiratorially, her hand gripping the table with widened eyes. _You see what I mean?_ Nini practically spells with her face turned to a drained Kourtney with an expression that read, _YES damn ma is it that serious?_

"I doubt Ricky could pull that off." EJ scoffs, interrupting the best friends and their telepathic banter.

Gina's eyes suddenly catch the object of their conversation and his blatant trying-hard-not-to-stare staring. Their eyes meet for a moment and she looks away because her shoulder starts tingling with heat little by little. For a second she doesn't move, just lets her eyes drift from Ricky and on to the table ever so quickly while she lets her body catch up to her. Gina breathes, _shit_.

And she's not the only one who sees.

_I know that you been hurt_   
_Don't mean that it's our turn_   
_Mmm_

xxx

xxx

**East High School**   
**September 28th 2019**   
**4:34pm**

"Look Nini was right yesterday. I'm taking up space, I don't belong on stage! I mean I clearly don't know what I'm doing. It would just be best for everyone if I just quit while I was ahead."

"Ricky!" Carlos calls out again, _things just can't fall apart this soon_. Not when it was just starting to feel... _like home_.

"Dude-" Red says, as he turns away from them. In his eyes he's got that serious look that he's only given him a couple times in his life that reads " **What's really going on? Are you gonna be okay**?" Most of the time Ricky's proud to say he knows, but given how much of a human disaster he's been as of late. He doesn't. So he leaves but Carlos and Red aren't the only ones that watch him go. 

Overhearing things aren't exactly an off-brand thing for Gina, _outsider things,_ the sophomore sings to herself while looking back down at her phone. It's a shame Ricky wants to quit the show, he's got alot of potential and he brought a certain level of street cred to their name. They weren't just a rag tag group of theater nerds but a jock, a skater boy, and a debate team captain (slash robotics club member slash future student body president slash cos player ?? Ashlyn does way too many things to keep track of, names are hard enough for Gina already).

_huh kinda glad I'm not the only one,_ the thought rings through her mind and her head pops up just as fast as it comes. She's too stunned to try to respond back, her eyes line up with Ricky's retreating figure. The random thoughts and responses have been coming so much ever since she's moved here and even more since she stepped foot at East High. That's when it hits her. _Im such a fucking dumb ass_.

It's his voice. It's Ricky Bowen's voice in her head. _Ricky Bowen. Ricky...R? B? Fuck._

_That can't be possible. It can't be true. Can it?_ The Porter curse if anything would never let anything like this to be sought to fruition. Either way she has to figure this out the only way she knows how: intervening.

With a new determination the curly haired girl makes her way to the remaining duo, "Hey Red?"

"Yeah?" Red responds, not in the least bit intimidated. So much so that he doesn't gulp when she takes a step closer.

"Do you know where Ricky is going?"

"Oh umm I don't know probably back to his house? Although I'm not really sure he would wanna go there right now."

"Didn't he mention the skate park?" Carlos replies as an alternative, Gina nods.

"Why do you wanna know?" Red asks innocently, she maintains eye contact with him for over five seconds and raises her eyebrow, and he's a goner. "So umm I'm gonna head back inside see if anyone else is still around. See you killer, LATER, I mean later not- yea." Red awkwardly states as Gina and Carlos watch him stumble through the doors of East High.

"Hey Gina, You okay?" Carlos asks, his eyes alit with concern even in the face of the musical crumbling. _He's the best and its not fair,_ she thinks leveling with him.

"Yeah you?" she asks back.

"Honestly no. Everything was going so well for me this week. I mean I found my soulmate, the background dancers have been killing it at rehearsals and I've already gotten pretty close with Ms. Jenn and some of the cast. But now with Ricky leaving its like..."

"Things are changing too fast too soon and you're not ready for it."

"Exactly." Carlos breathes out relieved he didn't have to say it.

"Yeah I know a little bit about that." _it's my brand actually._ "look just give it time, something tells me that with everyone involved in this thing as cliche as it sounds we're gonna get through it together."

"We're all in this together." Carlos smiles, nearly singing out the words.

"Sure." Gina replies plainly, trying her damnest to keep a smile off her face.

"Oh no you can't take it back now, your secretly soft huh Gina Porter? I see you." Carlos laughs.

"Yeah well you'll be the only one who see's." Gina pokes, with a sarcastic turned genuine smile and tone.

"I doubt it and if I am then that's a shame." Gina bows her head and looks to Carlos and does another uncharacteristic thing for the billionth time in the past 24 hours. She hugs him. Gina hugs her friend because that's what they are now, she decides.

"Dm me if you need anything okay?" She tells him and he's still reeling from the hug she can tell, He's glad to call her a friend nonetheless.

"Of course the same goes for you." Carlos says with a determined look. Gina smiles.

"I'll see ya"

xxx

xxx

**The Skate Park**   
**September 28th 2019**   
**7:09pm**

_This is insane. This is crazy._ Gina Porter thinking Ricky Bowen was her soulmate of all people was fucking crazy. I mean sure she's been hearing a lot more of her soulmates thoughts more than she usually did before she moved here but that could just be coincidence, and the same be said for that feeling. The warmth she felt at lunch. _Just coincidence_

_...Right?_

There's just so much she doesn't know. So right now Gina sticks to what she does know: Ricky needs to stay in the musical at least that'll give her the opportunity to figure this whole thing out. It needs to be figured out and not anything more of course because that would be crazy and no part of it would work out, _thank you Porter curse,_ she thinks sardonically.

For all Gina knows the whole reason Ricky is working so hard to win Nini back is because they are actually soulmates and _I'm probably just being crazy,_ her mind finishes. It definitely does not need to be figured out because as pathetic as it is it's her chance at guaranteed companionship. Something so solid and secure Gina's never had the chance for it. _Yeah totally_ ** _not_** _._

Why she needs to figure this whole thing out? _We'll unpack that later,_ The sophomore thinks to herself as she walks into the unfamiliar space of skateboards, high fives and slight B.O.

As she makes her way to a series of small steps, a small series of doubts and second guessing peaked into her mind. Gina sits and listens to the hsm soundtrack to drown it out, while she waits for her...castmate (well sorta, she's working on it) to arrive.

"Gina? What are you doing here?"

She's not expecting him to catch her off guard but she hears him before she see's him and the warmth sorta comes flooding back. _Can he feel it too?_ At the thought, their eyes meet and he looks a bit breathless as he subconsciously touches his right shoulder. Gina notices as she always does. Her mark is on _her_ right shoulder too. She kinda wants to (uncharacteristically, again this is just not her day) scream.

She looks back down at phone and takes off her headphones, not because the intensity of his deep brown eyes are a bit much, _definitely not that._

"Just babysitting my neighbors kid." Gina lies, avoiding his eyes.

"Where's the kid?" Ricky squints skeptically.

"Somewhere" she pauses, glancing around the space. "So is it true you quit the show?" She adds quickly.

"Have we met before?" Ricky is all too struck by the familiarity, but proceeds with caution in his voice.

Her breath is stolen for a moment and there's a momentary pause in time. Gina's the one a little breathless now.

"What?" She hears herself say, or whisper. Gina's a singer. She knows a thing or two about pitches and ranges, breath control, volume, the whole nine. But in this moment she can't really recognize the noise that's coming out of her mouth and the fact that it's her voice. It's a little too much too fast. _Maybe this was a bad idea._

"I just...could've sworn I heard your voice before but I can't really place it." Ricky says as he keeps on touching the mark on his shoulder lightly like it'll some how make it click. The softness in his voice catches him off guard because it's almost like he seeks to be heard by her, like he wants Gina to look at him. _God this is so weird what the fuck is going on,_ He think's to him self as he adjust's his bag averting his eyes from her.

Gina keeps not looking at him, or his shoulder. Especially not his shoulder. Just the endless sight of skateboards, helmets and questionable hair cuts because for right now that's safe. _Come on Porter focus._

"Must have one of those voices." She says clearing her throat.

"Yeah maybe." At his short response their eyes meet again, like magnets. Neither are ready for the realizations, implications or complications of what any of this means. Or what it even is. Because _soulmates are bullshit_ , and _the Porter curse is real so what even is the point,_ the thoughts ring true in both their minds now more than ever yet neither can hear what the other is thinking even though they're now finally some feet apart rather than thousand miles.

"So umm...you're really quitting? The curly haired brunette asks, shooting him a curious look.

"Well it's not really official yet but yeah." Ricky's mind still reels from the eye contact and he can't let himself focus on why, so he get's his things together so he can leave. _As far away from Gina Porter as possible._

_"_ That kinda sucks. I mean having you there kinda gave us all street cred."

"Did Ms. Jenn send you here?" He seemingly questions wanting to know her motives.

"Please I think I scare her."

"You are a little scary." Ricky admits, avoiding her eyes again.

"Look the way I see it you make due with what you got. I'm a transfer student okay, I don't survive these first couple of days or I don't survive at all. A bit dramatic yea but the point is that you're not the only outsider here. That's why I was so stoked when she cast you. Outsiders keep everyone on their toes."

Ricky still won't look at her but she can see the doubt painted all over his face. _Outsider?_ Ricky questions the word choice in his mind, thinking of the thought that popped into his head a mere few hours ago. A thought that wasn't his and yet brought him comfort all the same.

"Look I mean it, you kept us real." Gina continues, chancing a step towards him. Bringing him back from his endless thoughts.

"I know you saw the movie. Prepared for this and whatever the reason was doesn't matter right now what matters is if this play is important to you. If it is then why give up now? I know I wouldn't want to do anything to risk not having anyone on my side and you already have plenty." Gina nearly cringes at the last part of her self-imposed speech, _huh didn't know I was feeling that way, absolutely did not want to say that out loud. Gross,_ she breathes out hoping Ricky doesn't notice her face fall.

"You know you're not that bad at the whole pep talk thing. Maybe your voice is so familiar because I've heard you in a TED talk." Gina's eyes widen and she can't help but smile, _I couldn't give someone advice to save my l*fe. glad to see someone thinks I'm so put together. well besides...everyone._ Gina thinks to herself, eyes keen on her sneakers.

"Well thank you for coming to MY TED talk." He laughs and Gina is kinda really into the sound (and the adorable smile attached to it). _I have to leave,_ the sophomore thinks _._

"Why exactly would you need someone on your side?" Ricky pointedly asks, his eyes are soft and look for hers. Admittedly, Gina doesn't know where she was going with that one so she does uncharacteristic thing number infinity plus one and lets herself be vulnerable.

"Because it's like I said an eat or be eaten kind of world. Outsider's gotta stick together." Short and sweet she averts her gaze for the billionth time that evening, Gina puts on her headphones as he nods contemplating while he takes his leave. _There's that word again._

Breaking Free blares and Gina think's she gets the song a little better now.

xxx


	3. iii. Miss Americana and her Heartbreak Prince

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a look into the lives of two soulmates, How the hell they got here and what the hell they gon do now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey yall! I'm back with another update after the finale because I wanted to feed rina nation after everything. how we feeling? I'm feeling good knowing our slowburn prophecy is being fulfilled and we love that for us. Pls keep in mind that with the texts shown near the end the timestamps are not relevant and should be ignored otherwise enjoy luvs! Don't forget to give kudos, comment, and share <3

_You know I adore you, I'm crazier for you_   
_Than I was at sixteen, lost in a film scene_   
_Waving homecoming queens, marching band playing_   
_I'm lost in the lights_

xxx

Gina Porter was never one to believe in fairytales. Except she was. At least when she was little she was. As it usually happens it started with her parents, well more specifically her dad. She was just the tender age of ten when she first learned what it meant to be connected to someone through matching words on skin, or matching tattoo designs.

Gina's father loved the idea of soulmates, he told her about all these stories of how they came to find each other and what they would mean to one another. How every single soulmate pairing was different. Ms. Porter wasn't always a fan of her husband telling such tales. She would always leave the room, roll her eyes, or show some kind of distain toward the entire thing.

The story of how her mother and father fell in love was a short story from how Gina knows it. They met in college, mom wanted to focus on her studies and dad wanted to start a family. He was the softness that perfectly fit her mothers otherwise jagged edges. Gina had always assumed her parents were soulmates.

**Denver, Colorado**   
**October 16th 2014**   
**1:15pm**

When she met Ricky she thought maybe fairytales could be like real life.

That she could be like princess Tiana and that her frog prince would just take a little time to warm up to her.

Ten year old Gina Porter wanted to tell the soft boy, his face littered in freckles, with caramel skin and dark brown curls that she was his soulmate. Ricky Witter was one of the smartest kids in the class. He always had his hand raised and the right answer for what ever the teacher asked. He even helped her with a couple of math problems when she asked, all with a smile. He was calm, shy and quiet and everything ten year old Gina wanted in a soulmate.

(Even though her mark hadn't shown up yet _...maybe someday it would_ )

_Maybe he just needs to kiss me for it to show up? Like when Tiana and Naviene kissed in the princess and the frog?!_

Only Gina had learned that day (life would soon remind her, more than once) that life isn't a fairytale.

Recess was one of her favorite parts of the school day. The greatest feeling in the world was probably swinging on the swings. The feeling of wind blowing in her hair, the instant feelings of simultaneous relief and freedom with a taste of excitement. Gina can't help but go higher and higher. She's taught from an early age by her mother to want _more, more, more_ while her father does everything in his power to work against that.

She sees him in that moment. Gina later realizes she will always look back at it as one of the most impulsive things she's ever done in her life because she jumps off the swing set, runs to the corner of the playground where he's quietly reading and kisses him. Just a small innocent peck and that's all it takes.

_Now I'm feeling hopeless, ripped up my prom dress_   
_Running through rose thorns, I saw the scoreboard_   
_And ran for my life (Ah)_

It's all it takes for 5th graders to be 5th graders and nearly the entire playground to begin their cooing and hollering. Ricky stands in an instant his face now beating as red as his caramel skin would show, he shoves Gina a few feet away. "W-What are you doing?"

The giant smile on her face falls _, I didn't feel anything._

The curly haired brunette could see it in his eyes as they were reflected in hers. The starling disappointment at the lack of spark; even ten year old Gina Porter knew she didn't feel like she should've if they were really soulmates.

"I-I'm so sorry Ricky." The curly haired girl lowly says to her shoes, Gina feels the eyes of everyone in school on her back and already hears the muted chuckles, snickers and whispers teasing her rejection. _"Did she really think he was her soulmate? "I thought she didn't have a mark?" "Didn't she get here like a week ago?"_

"Haven't we talked like once? I don't even know you, Just leave me alone you freak." Ricky's voice is cold and nothing like the voice she remembers when he helped her.

The tears are falling down her face faster than she can stop them, she nods and runs far from the cruel whispers, the laughter, and her false soulmate. Gina's still new to the school but thankfully she doesn't have to do that much fast paced wandering around the building to find an empty space behind the stairwell. She finally lets herself release a sob as her mind plagues her with regret and frustration.

 _Now no one will ever talk to me. Great. Nice going Porter._ She thinks wiping her tears and shaking her head at her rash decisions.

 _That was so stupid. Seriously princess and the frog?!? Of all the craziest ideas you've ever had..._ Gina scoffs to herself, at the logic of her plan or lack thereof. _I can't believe my first kiss went like_ _that._

**_eww_ **

The sentiment is all too relatable to how Gina's feeling. It's only after a minute she realizes the thought isn't hers. Gina's eyes suddenly widen at the realization. Recess isn't out for another 20 minutes, and the staircase remains solitary as the brunette looks around for the voice responsible.

"Hello??" She calls out to the empty space, and nothing calls back.

_weird_

**_this is weird_ **

_OH MY GOD Hello?!?_

_Hi?_

_What is happening right now??! Am I going crazy._

**_My school nurse says I'm not and I guess that means you aren't either._ **

Gina's head quite literally feels like it's spinning at the invasion of foreign thoughts but for some reason apart of herself welcomed it and was comforted by the new voice in her mind all the same. _School??? Who are you?_ She questions, as she dries her eyes.

**_I'm your soulmate I guess_ **

**_Hi?_ **

_You're my soulmate?_ She huffs at the introduction.

 _You have_ really _great timing,_ Gina remarks to him sarcastically.

**Huh?**

_Sorry I um thought my soulmate was someone else and I just did something totally embarrassing in front of the whole school._

**_oh...Did you..Kiss him??_ **

_How do you know?_ Gina panics a bit. If theirs gonna be a person in her head from now on she needs to set some serious boundaries for future completely embarrassing and humiliating moments in her life.

**_well you mentioned something about kissing_ **

**_but you were also kind of sad too_ **

**_are you okay?_ **

Gina sniffles and really thinks about the question before she breathes out and responds, _yeah it's just always hard with new schools and stuff I only got here like a couple weeks ago. which is when school started but still..._

**_it sounds hard, I've never had to move before_ **

**_I've never had to kiss anybody either_ **

**_It sounds kinda gross_ **

_Gross?_ She questions, again only this time she's confused yet amused at the same time. A soft chuckle rises from within her.

**_Yea I mean your like putting your face holes together and like tongues get in there and stuff_ **

_Ew dude you make it sound so gross_

**_it kinda is_ **

_Yea I guess it is ,_ the school bell rings a startling sound interrupting her next thought. _damn,_ Gina curses checking her watch: **1:55pm**.The young brunette has to get to classsoon but before then she has to ask him what she's been dying to ask him all along.

_Hey I gotta go but umm before I do,_

_what's your name?_

Gina doesn't hear from him for another month.

xxx

Ricky Bowen was a bit of a hopeless romantic. It's not his fault entirely because the thing is Ricky's life sort of starts out as a fairytale. Until it's not.

He remembers his life kinda being like a fairytale until he remembers those moments where his parents are fighting in the kitchen after they've tucked him away into bed. Away from the whispered yelling and beady eyes, open glares that's usually muted when he sat down at breakfast. Of course life isn't always a fairytale.

His mom forgets him at baseball practice and dad rips her a new one, then she mentions the trash he forgot to take out that week and it practically becomes a cycle till Ricky wakes up in the middle of the night and then its not so bad. They also make pillow forts together, make cookies, and watch reruns of Family Matters together until his mom falls asleep on his dad's shoulder then all is right in the world again. Ricky's life isn't perfect but he loves his parents more than anything.

In those moments when he see's his mom fall asleep on his dad's shoulder it reassures the fact that they're soulmates. That thing that everyone at school is always talking about now. He knows that just like those books his dad was always reading to him at night, his parents were meant to be together because Ricky learns from a very young age that love is never easy.

His parents fight about whether to tell him about soulmates too. It's not like its something they can stop I mean everyone in 6th grade knows you've got a soulmate. Someone made for you so you won't be so lonely in the world.

Ricky thinks this is a real cool idea because even though he's got Big Red, Nini, even Kourtney and his parents he's always wanted a sibling. Whether it was older or younger Ricky always wanted someone else around the house, someone to turn to when life wasn't really a fairytale.

**Jefferson Middle School**   
**Salt Lake City, Utah**   
**October 16th 2014**   
**1:21pm**

Lunch at Jefferson Middle School is never quiet. Long blue tables are filled all around the room as chattering students talk of the latest episode of "Sam and Cat" or South Park if you didn't get caught by your parents (Ricky wasn't always so lucky), Marvel movies and of course, soulmates.

Eleven year old Ricky Bowen (still mark-less) is definitely not trying to steal glances at Nini Salazar Roberts from across the room. Because as half the table agreed "girls are lame" the only protest to that being the disagreeing frown on Ricky's face while Red verbally opposes saying "That seems a little misogynistic." They're eleven so the conversation shifts like a mile a minute after that and the last Ricky checked they were all talking about Power Rangers before he got sucked into the void that was Nini.

Ever since last year Ricky's realized Nini is kinda pretty whenever she's climbing the monkey bars on the playground at recess or a lot of the time and not just then. She also smiles at him a lot more than she used to, definitely more than back when he used to melt her barbie dolls. She smells really good too.

 _Now no one will ever talk to me,_ the thought enters his mind with no consequence but his confusion and panic.

 _woah_ , Ricky thinks to himself, as he looks around the table.

His table of very male friends with prepubescent voices sure but no voice as soft and as pretty as this. **_or as sad either._** He shakes his head of the foreign thought that invades his mind and tries to finish the last of his potato chips in peace. Well as much peace as you can get in a middle school cafeteria.

_Seriously princess and the frog?!?_

It's like a floodgate, the thoughts keep coming.

"What the hell??!? The princess and the frog?!" Ricky breaks and finally responds out loud, a little too loudly. The entire table looks to him and blinks. Two tables over he can see Nini look to him with doe brown eyes in concern. Now it's not so strange anymore but it's scary because the voice is in his head and he doesn't know where it's coming from or what it means. Only that the feeling that comes from it isn't all too foreign but kinda warm and _welcoming_ , its the only thing that keeps him from screaming for help at the top of his lungs in the middle of lunch in the Godforsaken cafeteria. Other than complete humiliation which he's just now managed to attain for himself.   
**_  
_**

**_great_** , the curly haired boy thinks to himself sarcastically, wondering when the thoughts would cease.

"Hey man are you okay?" asks Red slightly concerned, as Ricky's cheeks begin to burn at the sight of the minimal spectacle he's now become. He knows he's only asking because Red wants to be a good friend so he can then ask Danny with a non-guilty conscious what happened in the latest episode of his favorite Power Rangers series. Ricky decidedly rather than lie tries to put his head down instead, ** _maybe now it'll leave me alone._**

 _I can't believe my first kiss went like_ _that._

**_eww kissing??_ **

_**This is the last straw** , _Ricky's head pops up at that last thought as he drags Red up from his seat along with him and away from the cafeteria.

"Woah dude! Danny was just getting to the good pa-"

"I keep hearing thoughts in my head and I don't think they're all me dude!" Red blinks at this interruption and they're suddenly walking down the hallway toward the familiar path, to the nurses office.

_weird_

_**this is weird** , _Ricky thinks exhaustingly.

"Mr. Bowen, Mr. Red, What is it now? Let me guess another stomach bug?" The nurse acknowledges them both, setting down her pen on her desk to properly greet the boys. Ricky doesn't even register he's made it there until Red guides him to a seat and tries to explain the situation to a skeptical nurse Henrietta.

"Yeah I don't know what's really wrong with him today either." Red says to her as they move closer to the door, presumably out of hearing range of Ricky. Presumably.

Nurse Henrietta sighs, "This better not be part of some type of elaborate joke or prank young man. Now go off back to lunch I'll take care of your friend." Red spares Ricky another look. "I'll be fine dude." **_Even though I'm losing my mind_** _,_ he says that last bit in his head and hopes he doesn't hear a response. Red hesitantly walks back toward the cafeteria.

"Okay so your friend told me a little bit about what's going on. But I wanna hear it from you. What seems to be the problem Ricky?" Nurse Henrietta asks sympathetically, sitting down at her desk.

Ricky fidgets a bit in his seat. "I um...I swear I'm not going crazy but...I keep hearing all these thoughts in m-my head. But..the thing is they're not all...mine?"

The nurses face changes from one of simultaneous sympathetic skepticism to wistful amusement. "Do these thoughts sound like another voice? That's not like yours?"

"Uhh yea."

"I'll need you to answer this honestly Ricky, so I can know for sure okay?"

"Okay yeah." **_Please don't let it be an alien inside me please don't let it be an alien,_** Ricky thinks as his breath hitches in panic. Red would think he was the coolest person on earth to be a human host for an alien. But it's completely invasive, he doesn't want anything non-earthly swimming around his stomach.

"Did the voice sound familiar to you at all? Did you feel a little at ease with it even?"

"Well I felt kinda warm for a second like in the pit of my stomach and it does sound kinda familiar I guess." More than just familiar it felt like it was a voice that's been there his entire life only now he could finally hear it and the whole thing was overwhelming to say the least.

"Well Ricky it's safe to say that you're not going crazy."

"Oh god I knew it...it's the aliens isn't it. They're inside me?!" Ricky nearly yells, touching his stomach.

"Aliens?" Henrietta laughs standing from her desk to get to her file cabinet, "No hun, this is your soulmate talking to you."

"M-my soulmate?" Ricky asks more confused than before, **_I think I liked it better when I had an alien baby._** Nurse Henrietta squints in concentration as she scans the file cabinet for Ricky's file once more, only to come up empty.

"I'll have to head to the administrative office to find your file. Ricky I need you to remember to stay calm if you get anymore thoughts from your soulmate okay? They're not here to hurt you."

"Okay." Ricky replies, already playing with his hands to keep calm.

 _Am I going crazy_ _,_ the thought startled him in the newly solitary room.

**_My school nurse says I'm not and I guess that means you aren't either._ **

**_We're in eachothers heads now because_**

**_I'm your soulmate I guess_ **

**_Hi?_** Ricky awkwardly introduces himself.

_You have really great timing,_

**Huh?** **What do you mean?**

_Sorry I um thought my soulmate was someone else and I just did something totally embarrassing in front of the whole school._

**_oh...Did you..Kiss him??_** Ricky oddly feels a spark of jealously at the question in his mind. 

**_Why is his soulmate kissing other people?_ **

_How_ _did_ _you know?_

 **_well you mentioned something about kissing_ ** **_in your mind, well my mind,_ **  
**_but you were also kind of sad too_ **  
**_are you okay?_ **

_yeah it's just always hard with new schools and stuff I only got here like a couple weeks ago. which is when school started but still..._

**_it sounds hard, I've never had to move before_ **   
**_I've never had to kiss anybody either_ **   
**_It sounds kinda gross_ **

_Gross?_ Ricky finds himself smiling at the tone of her question. **_I think she's laughing_**. For some reason Ricky just feels like he's accomplished a goal, and it makes him feel that warmth in the pit of his stomach again.

 ** _Yea I mean you're like putting your face holes together and like tongues get in there and stuff_** ** _,_** he keeps trying to make her laugh because Ricky kinda likes the warm feeling, so he chases it and hopes that maybe he could someday hear her laugh in real time.

_Ew dude you make it sound so gross_

**_it kinda is_ **

_Yea I guess it is,_ Ricky smiles again and is about to ask her the million dollar question when Nurse Henrietta walks in with his dad in tow.

"Dad!" Ricky excitedly springings up from his seat to give his father a hug.

"So you're having alien babies? Aren't you a little young?" Mike Bowen asks his son, with eyes jokingly squinted in question. Ricky laughs at his fathers off hand attitude on the situation and he suddenly finds himself in his dads truck being driven to the only home he's ever known. After talking to his soulmate he's grateful.

Mike Bowen carefully regurgitates the information given to him by Nurse Henrietta to his son on this rare type of connection that exists between soulmates that can talk to one another telepathically. How it can be fragile, one-sided at times or even in nature. Ricky wants to ask if he's ever talked to mom in her head but his gut tells him not to and he listens. Instead Ricky looks out of the rear door window and closes his eyes.

**_Hi again umm it was nice talking to you_ **

**_I was gonna ask_ **

**_What's your name?_ **

Ricky only half hides his disappointment when she doesn't respond right away. Or at all.

xxx

**Denver, Colorado**

**November 7th 2014**

**3:15pm**

_**she's so pretty** _

_Whose pretty?_

Gina next step on the wooden dance floor falters that the sudden foreign thought. She hadn't heard his voice since she first met him (sort of) and now the first thing that she hears is him talking about someone else. She's a bit breathless and it's not all because of the routine.

 _Hello??_ She tries to speak to him again like the countless times she's tried to over the last month but it seems to be no use; Gina just can't get a hold of her soulmate.

She sighs and lets her body relax as she walks to the tan wooden bar. Her arms touch the handle, centering herself. Raising her head after a couple of deep breaths she sees the clock positioned overhead. Then Gina remembers, it's friday, and she smiles. It's her dad's turn to pick her up today. The curly haired 5th grader books it to the dance studio entrance.

"How was it today princess?" her father calls to her as she makes her way to the passenger seat, her seat. Gina looks at her dad and softly smiles because he's helped her learn to love the little things. Like the fact that he asks her about her whole day in general not just school because if anyone knows how hard it is for Gina it's her dad.

"Alright look old man I know you're only asking for the gossip, so let's keep our interactions straightforward shall we?" Gina replies, raising an eyebrow. 

It's not the same when her mother picks her up. She asks her if her techniques gotten better, or if she's been putting in the same amount of hours as the other girls in the studio, then if it hasn't been a stressful day at work will give her a small smile and let her play whatever she wants on the radio. With her dad she's too caught up in the gossip, laughter, and telling each other about their days that it's hard to pay attention to the oldies playlist her father usually listens to when coming home. Sometimes they sing along.

Her father sputters jokingly while he drives past the studio and an endless stream of cafe's. Gina tries to keep her smile from growing. "Okay so I've been caught, What's the 411 Gigi?"

"Aren't you a little old for tween gossip?"

"Aren't you a little young to be questioning your father? Don't think I let that old man comment slide, you're going to pay for that later when I whoop your'e sorry behind in Mario Kart."

"Oh so the old man has jokes now." Gina responds amused.

"The old man wants to hear about his daughters day thank you very much."

"Alright, Alright so remember how I told you a couple of weeks ago how that blonde popular girl that goes to the high school, Amber was dating Jonah Beck again?"

"Yes of course. Those two were a disaster, They work much better as friends" Her dad responds, shaking his head.

"I know right! Anyways..turns out that's old news because she's actually dating Andi Mack. They found out they were soulmates just last week."

"No! Really? Those two?" _It kinda makes sense_ , Gina thinks to herself as she notes her dad's widened eyes at the news yet he looked pleased too. Like he knew something that Gina didn't see before she told him about it. _Dad said gay rights!_

"Yep that was my thoughts exactly when I heard Iris Feldman talking about it in the bathroom."

"You know honey you could always try... and get this type of information first hand by actually talking to people rather than just over hearing everything. Might make your source stronger, I don't know." Andrew Porter softly notes to his daughter.

Gina's smile drops a little, and her dad takes his eyes off the road for a second noticing her change in mood, "Anything else happen today hun?" He swiftly changes the subject.

 _ **Shes so pretty**_ , the thought comes back to the fore front of her mind as she recalls what her soulmate said today. She doesn't really know what bothers her more the fact that he's thinking of somebody else that way, or that she's never met him, or that she doesn't even feel like she has a right to be mad at her soulmate for thinking of someone else. It might just be the fact that he didn't respond and doesn't ever. Gina frowns at the thoughts swirling in her mind and her father notices.

"Well, I got a thought from my soulmate finally. But I don't think he meant to talk to me and I tried to talk to him but I got nothing back...as usual."

"You gotta be patient with these kinda things, Gina" Her father responds as he pulls into their small driveway. She knows it's serious because he calls her Gina instead of princess or Gigi.

"I know Dad." She replies, unbuckling her seat belt ready to call the conversation in.

"You shouldn't give up on them so early in the game." She doesn't know why but in that moment Gina loves her dad more than she loves most things in the world, even dancing.

xxx

**New York City Charter School of the Arts**

**December 13th 2015**

**10:35am**

"She took that role from you cause she's a heartless bitch."

Gina Porter is practically a master at overhearing things. The untamed loud shrill of New York, the cop cars, ambulances and construction are no match for her hearing. Especially with the acoustics in the bathroom. She recognizes the voices speaking before she sees them.

_They whisper in the hallway, "She's a bad, bad girl" (Okay)_

_The whole school is rolling fake dice_

_You play stupid games, you win stupid prizes_

_It's basic bitch number one and her not-so-loyal minions_ , Gina thinks to herself in the stall. She resists the urge to roll her eyes before she reveals herself to them. One of them is crying because she didn't get the part of Clara for the very highly anticipated production of "The Nutcracker". Gina was going to be the very first "African-American" female lead for the production in the school's history.

"I mean like she isn't even as good as me you know." Basic Bitch otherwise known as Emily cries out.

"The only reason why they casted her is because...well you know." Basic bitches minion whispers the last part of her sentence like she's inciting some kind of curse. _She did not just say that_. Gina figures it's as good a time as any to make her appearance.

Nearly kicking the stall open all three girls jump at the sudden startling noise. Gina makes eye contact with all three of them; shaking, _as they should_ , and moves to wash her hands in the porcelain sink.

The bathroom is silent, all that's heard is Emily's sniffles, the tap water running and the impatient rap of nails from one of the minions on the sink. "Ugh would you just leave already." One of them snaps, Gina's pretty sure it's the one who made the blatantly racist comment. She turns off the water ever so slowly and turns to her. Emily and her other follower next to her look a little unnerved by the entire situation but the one in front of her wishing her to leave looks like she's fuming. _Madison, Addison whatever the fuck her name is_ , was done for.

"What exactly are you gonna do if I don't?" Gina responds, arms crossing. "Better tell daddy to buy you a new school to go to because I'm not going anywhere." Gina almost never says she's going to stay somewhere, even more rarely does she promise it because of the constant movement her mother's job entails but in this moment she means it more than she's ever meant anything else she's ever said.

"And if you have a problem with that you can kiss my "role stealing" ass." Gina sharply directs that last part to Emily and her little friend now cowering in the corner of the bathroom and takes her stormy leave.

 _She's a heartless bitch_ , echoes in her mind as she makes her way back to class. _So what if I'am_. She was used to comments like this everywhere she went, her walls followed her everywhere. No matter how many times her dad told her sometimes they were better down.

Before she knows it Gina's in her seat learning about Confucianism and looking out the window waiting for the day to end. She wants to groan when she looks at the clock and sees its only eleven.

_She isn't even as good as me_

Words like that from others don't normally get to her like they used to because Gina had developed thick skin, her mom made sure of that. What those words did remind her of was her mother in general. The simple questions she would ask in car rides home when dad was too busy working that would set her on edge because all her mother would ever want from her is _more, more, more_ and never _enough._

 _I'm not gonna break down in tears while learning about ancient china, please_. Gina thinks to herself, looking down at her notebook feeling the heavy weight in her eyes.

_**Ancient China?** _

Gina nearly drops everything on her desk on the floor with how startled she is by the thought. The person to the left of her gives her a look before going back to taking notes while she readjusts herself.

_Man why does he always listen to the weirdest thoughts._

_**Why do you always have the weirdest thoughts?** _

Gina swears she can feel his amusement increase with every word. That alone gives her the strength to blink her tears away. She thinks of the times she's heard an array of random one-sided thoughts from him ranging from koala bears to teenage mutant ninja turtles. All of them usually super late at night but for some reason Gina doesn't really have the energy to tease him about it right now, even if this is the only chance she'll get for a while.

**_You doing okay?_ **

_I feel like you ask me that every time we tal_ k

_**well this is only the second time we've talked like this** _

_I'm gonna be okay just under a lot of pressure right now_

_**Well my dad's always tells me when in doubt, make no sense** _

_What does that even mean?_

_**I have no idea** _

_Where'd he get that from?_

_**An ancient chinese proverb I think** _

At the last thought Gina let's a chuckle slip and forgets she's in the middle of history class. Mr. Miller spares her a glare while some of the students grant her either envious looks or disdainful ones. Just like that her guard is back up, and she matches them with looks of her own. This is New York of all places, _nobody's gonna catch me slipping._

 _Hello_? Gina stares back out the window and hopes this time is different from the others but all she gets is silence.

It takes her a second to realize that maybe she can't have it both ways. _Can I?_

xxx

**The Bowen Residence**

**February 12th 2017**

**6:13pm**

Leave it to Mr. and Mrs. Bowen to argue two days before Valentines Day. As if Ricky wasn't stressed enough with what to get Nini for their first Valentine's Day as a couple. Now he had to hear the "standard of love" themselves argue over who left the back door unlocked (as if anyone would try to break in). _Actually I hope someone does maybe it would save me from this screaming match,_ the thirteen year old groans as he falls on his bed.

**_Will the fighting ever stop?_ **

His eyes are closed and he wishes he could just block the noise out.

_I guess it's my turn to ask if your okay_

Ricky nearly falls off his bed, he's so startled. With his arms extended to save him from his fall, he pushes himself back onto the comforter in his bed and breathes out, surprised.

**_Yea no I-I'm fine just my parents arguing again_ **

**_it's not big deal_ **

_Oh..._

**_Yeah they tend to do that sometimes_ **

**_Or all the time just without all the yelling_ **

**_Sometimes I think that's worse_ **

Ricky doesn't really know why he's telling her all this. He thinks maybe it's because she only pops up in his head like once a year and she's not someone he's not directly gonna confront at least not for a long time at this rate. He's not sure he even wants to if they'd just end up like his parents, so at this point he just goes with it.

 _Must be tough dealing with all that_ _and_ _not being able to get the teletubies theme song out of your head_

Ricky Bowen is about to lose his Goddamn mind, He verbally keyboard smashes in real time. If he didn't already collapse to the floor at her first thought he's about ready to now. He takes a pillow and covers his face in embarrassment. The urge to smother himself rises.

**_OH MY GOD You did not hear that coming from me I-_ **

And then there was that feeling again, the warmth that didn't wanna leave the pit of his stomach. That feeling of assurance he got when they first met (sorta) because he was pretty sure he made her laugh.

_Well it wasn't me_

**_It was ONE TIME that was like months ago_ **

**_How do you even remember that?_ **

_I don't know I guess your really random thoughts kinda stick_

Ricky adjusts his position on the bed and now he's laying down, gathering some of his covers over himself. He let's himself forget that Ashlyn was supposed to text him the rest of the algebra homework. Or that his parents went silent down stairs which could only mean his dad went out or that Nini was in need of a seriously cool valentines day gift in two days time. Ricky just breathes.

**Thank you**

**For the record I'm glad it's you**

**whoever you are**

_It's you and me, there's nothing like this_

_Miss Americana and The Heartbreak Prince (Okay)_

_We're so sad, we paint the town blue_

_Voted most likely to run away with you_

xxx

**Washington Heights, New York**

**April 20th 2017**

**8:28am**

Andrew Porter dies of lung cancer when Gina is just twelve years old and she's not quite sure how to deal with her favorite person just being gone. Sometimes she wakes up crying and she doesn't really have an explanation why. Then there are days that go by where she doesn't talk at all. Or want to leave her bed.

Drives to school with her mom feel suffocating and in the car. They don't speak but they can't let the music play either because then if it's one of her dad's favorite oldies hits that comes on, Gina breaks down into tears now that her singing partner isn't here anymore.

Today is one of those days she doesn't want to leave her bed.

When she wasn't looking a thought sneaked into her head, **_Hey haven't heard from you in a while._**

**_I hope your okay_ **

Gina buries herself in her covers and doesn't want to come out. She hears her door creak open and feels the dip in the bed, the weight of someone sitting beside her laying there. Mrs. Porter lays her hand on her daughter's forehead brushing away her curls as she adjusts herself to her daughters bed. Gina sobs when she realizes it's one of those days for her mom too.

(Ricky gives up after a couple of months)

xxx

**Washington Heights, New York**

**July 12th 2018**

**10:08pm**

"Your father and I weren't soulmates. People like us don't get happy endings." Grace Porter had just about enough of her daughters attitude. After months of hurting, grieving and eventually coming together. Mrs. Porter was proud to say that she and her daughter had gotten much closer. Partly because of the fact that they would have to walk on egg-shells around one another and the other part because they were Porter women, they just had to keep going.

"What?" Gina can't hear herself say the word, emotion too thick in her words. Her mother is all jagged edges now and her father isn't here to heal the cuts made by the sharp heed of her words. _No no no._

 _"_ No it's not true! Dad would never lie to me like that!" Gina says her voice raising by the minute.

"He didn't lie to you." Her mother responds calmly to her, her eyes closing in frustration.

"S-so what he just didn't tell me the truth? Is that it?"

"Yes." It's a simple three letter word, an answer to her question, and it unpacks and unravels years of lies. Gina's face crumbles, because her mother is all she has now and she has no choice but to believe what she says.

"Baby, its complicated. I knew he shouldn't have filled your head with all those stories about soulmates and fairytales." she sighs, as she sits on the dining room chair. Her head is in her hands now and she knows she can't put this conversation off any longer.

"Mom what are you talking about?" Tears are streaming down Gina's face and she's still standing in shock, her head spinning at the news.

"Come on honey there's quite a bit I gotta explain to you." Grace says, tiredly sniffing.

"Your father and I weren't soulmates. The truth is I never had a mark neither did your father but we were still content anyways. We had you. And yes we had our disagreements but they were always about the same thing: what we would tell you about soulmates. I wanted to tell you about the Porter curse right away but your father..."

"The Porter curse? Mom that sounds crazy. What are you even talking about?" Gina can feel a headache coming as her mind reels at the onslaught of information.

"Soul mark's making any type of appearances in our family have always been bad omens. The Porters for generations have always had one sided soulmates. Either you're the only one who has the mark, or you fall in love with someone's soulmate but their not yours in return, or you do find your soulmate and they die when you meet. It's a cataclysm of potential disasters."

The curly haired fourteen year old nodded, her mouth agape at the information, _it makes sense now_. Why her mother was always teaching her about wanting more, about hardening up to the world. Because someday someone would become that world and it could all come crashing down. It could destroy her if she wasn't strong enough.

"I never knew who my soulmate was because I never got my mark and I hope I never do because this kind of curse is not for the weak, Gina and I'm...I'm afraid that's what I might be." Gina's eyes immediately widen at the statement, the dried tears on her face illuminated in the soft golden light.

"Mom no don't be crazy you're one of the strongest people I know." She hesitates before she takes both of her mother's hands in hers, and for the first time in a long time Grace Porter softly smiles, tears trekking down her cheek.

"I know I can come off a bit cold sometimes baby but I need you to know it's because everyday when I'm out there helping people and we're on the move I see the real world and it's not always so kind to people who were like your father." Gina's eyes glisten, nodding.

"And you did everything you could to make sure I wasn't like that." The tears fall despite her best efforts but she can't seem to look away from her mother.

Ms. Porter sighed, "I failed...but I'm glad I did. You're the best parts of him. I think he knew that."

Gina hugs her mother and she can tell it catches her off guard because there is a beat of hesitation before her arms wrap firmly around her, she feels safe. She's going to rebuild those walls, and try her best to forget about soulmates, forget about fairy tales, forget about all of it. _This_ is reality. This is the reality for people like them.

xxx

**Bowen Residence**

**June 3rd 2019**

**7:19pm**

For the first time in a long time it's quiet when Ricky comes home from the skate park. It takes less than two minutes to see the reason why, when he sets his things down on the couch and puts his skateboard away. He sees his dad fidgeting with a bottle of beer in his hand.

"That skateboard better not be on the ground." Mike Bowen says to his son, his back still turned to him as he sits on a stool in the kitchen.

"It's not it's in the ottoman. I'm not in the business of nearly killing you pops. Speaking of which, where's mom?" Ricky slyly asks, opening the cabinet to find Doritos.

"Not funny and she's up stairs, she's getting ready for a trip." His father replies sardonically, finishing his beer.

"A trip? Where is she going?"

"To Chicago, for work." They share a look, and Ricky makes his way upstairs to find his mom settling the suitcase in front of his parents bedroom door.

"Hey sweetie I didn't hear you come in." Lynne Bowen slightly gives a nervous smile, opening her arms to hug her son.

"Your leaving?" Ricky says lowly, in half-disbelief and half-discontent, he hugs her back.

"Oh honey it's only for about a couple of weeks nothing too crazy. I'll be going back and forth for a bit especially during the fall but I should be here for most of the summer." _**This isn't making any sense, mom never travels this much for work.**_

Suddenly Ricky's throat feels tight and there's a lump that won't leave because this feels like more than just a business trip. He clears his throat and hugs his mother again, "I love you mom. Safe travels." It's too quick of a goodbye because it's all too painful.

"Oh i'm not leaving no-" Ricky slams the door to his bedroom shut before she can finish. He rubs his face with his hands and sighs.

He wants his mom to let him eat all the cookie batter before she puts it in the oven, He wants his dad to make an awful Steve Urkel impression and for his mom to die of laughter like she usually does, he wants the feeling of home again. Ricky is more than anything not just hurt but angry it's gone. So angry he could punch a fucking wall.

Because there was yelling then there wasn't and everything's shit now.

 ** _Soulmates are such bullshit._** Ricky thinks as he sinks into his mattress, he hopes his covers could envelope him better than his problems do.

(it might just be the first thought she's gotten from him in two years, It stings when it first reaches Gina's mind but then she realizes he's right)

It's a bit too early to call it a night but with the day he's had Ricky's calling it. He especially wants to call it when he hears the front door open but he can't bring himself to get up and actually say goodbye to his mom for now. He wishes she could just leave. But he also wishes she would take those step toward him give him a kiss on the forehead and stay. Instead he hears hesitant steps leaving his room and a deep sigh. 

He wishes the door would just close. He wishes everyone would just leave him alone. He wishes he slept through this non-fight of all fights.

xxx

**The Bowen Residence**   
**October 1st 2019**   
**7:50pm**

"So that's it you're just gonna give up on this? On mom just like that?" Ricky feels his voice rise and the tears threaten to fall as his voice nearly cracks. He blinks them away and clears his throat wishing this conversation would end or keep going just whatever it took to get his sense of normalcy back.

"Ricky, it's not that simple. It's never been that simple and you know that." Mike Bowen pointedly says to his son with a tone of finality foreign to him. He says it like he expects him to just know why this is happening. Yes they argued and fought but _**love is never easy right?**_ Ricky and his father don't really argue. Lynne Bowen leaving seems to have shaken things up in more than one front and Ricky doesn't like the change. 

"Your mother found her soulmate in Chicago." His father says, he can't look at his son in that moment.

"God...It's _always_ soulmates isn't it." The statement rests bitterly on his tongue as he shakes his head incredulously. Ricky is just about fed up with the entire night so he races up to his room.

"Ricky-" He hears his father start exhaustedly, if there was anything Mike Bowen wanted for his son it was faith in things like this. Something bigger than him that could bring people together rather than tear them apart.

Falling on his bed, eyes closed his thoughts race. He wouldn't know what to do with himself if a thought from his soulmate just popped into his mind so he takes out the ultimate weapon of distraction (not a blunt, _maybe later_ ), his phone. He mindlessly (not so much) scrolls through instagram and stumbles upon her.

She's beautiful. **_Yea what else is new._**

Then all of a sudden it's decided. Ricky can't give up on her just yet, _Not like dad did with mom._ Just like he did when he started the play to begin with, He did it to win her back _._ Marks on skin don't decide the fates of hearts people do. **_Maybe I should...do it?_**

Ricky thinks back to just two days prior after coming back home from the skate park after waves of foreign (and maybe not so foreign, if he doesn't try so hard not to remember) feelings washed over him after that conversation with Gina. The idea just falls right into his lap when he can't get her words (or her if he's being honest) out of his head. _Outsiders gotta stick together right?_

So maybe that's why a newly determined Ricky Bowen sits straight up from his bed and sends a few messages on twitter that change everything.

_I think you should come home_   
_And I'll never let you (Go) 'cause I know this is a (Fight)_   
_That someday we're gonna (Win), I just thought you should know_

xxx


	4. iv. Drive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ricky lies. Like a lot. Big Red is feeling: suspicious. Ashlyn is *gay panicking*. Nini and Kourt be like *supportive besties noises*.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if I haven't been able to update that much as of late the semester just started so I'm a bit overwhelmed because college tings ✨. Anyways if y'all have any comments or questions about what's going on in the story or what you would like to see more of feel free to comment them; I love knowing what you guys think. pls comment, give kudos, and share <3 As always thank you and enjoy!

xxx

* * *

**The Porter Residence**   
**October 1st 2019**   
**11:02pm**

_What the fuck did I just do?_ Gina stares at her phone blankly thinking about what the hell she just got herself into. _Fuck I hope he didn't hear that,_ she thinks as she paces back and forth on her light pink fluffy carpet. Gina finds that she has to be much more careful with her thoughts now that she...suspects who her soulmate could be. Maybe what Nini said was right, maybe soul marks do come when soulmates are in each others proximity, maybe her soulmark came because she was coming here. Because of that fateful night in June. When her mom had only told her hours prior that they would be moving again. But then she remembers.

 _Nini,_ the girl Ricky was doing all of this for. Gina shakes her head at the will of the universe always coming through. _The Porter curse just doesn't let up does it? All of this is just...impossible._ As she makes her way back to her bed her mind drifts again this time to the unavoidable: the real reason she's doing all this. 

It's the tiny voice in her head, the one that pesters her conscious and sounds oddly like her father that tells her this could give her everything she never knew she needed even with the risk of leaving for the billionth time. Even with the risk of getting hurt. For some reason she can't let this go and she has to know for sure. So Gina thinks about how she said yes to Ricky a mere few hours ago and suddenly that part of her self that she swore died with her father, that reminded her of the idea of soulmates just lurched at the thought. Taking her favorite purple plushie and smushing it against her face, Gina screams.

xxx

* * *

**East High School**   
**October 4th 2019**   
**9:50am**

According to Ricky Bowen everything should be going according to plan (a rare occurrence for him). Only a mere few days ago Gina had accepted his proposal at being his fake girlfriend and everything was going smoothly. Well as smoothly as it can go when your fake girlfriend doesn't really talk to you and you wanna talk to her but don't wanna make things awkward.

Well more awkward then they already are because **_you also don't wanna talk to her since you don't really know her all that well and just asked her to be your fake girlfriend out of no where_**. Ricky felt a headache coming on at the thought of him and Gina doing this awkward dance around one another at rehearsals. The hesitance to approach one another when they exchange glances in the hallway and don't know whether to talk each other or go about their day.

So he (maturely) decides its all gonna stop today. Ricky's locker snaps shut with a resounding thud as he turns and looks across to her figure standing in front of her own locker. A swarm of red and white surround her yet she stands out in her dark blue dress. **_Her hair looks different_**. Ricky notes, instead of the usual mass neatly coiled curls its a long dark brown cascade of soft waves flowing past her shoulders. He clears his throat and decidedly takes a step forward to meet her when suddenly two very friendly red-heads step in his way. Ashlyn pointedly shoves Ricky. **_Okay maybe not so friendly_**.

"Oww!" Ricky exclaims, rubbing the spot on his bicep where he was suddenly attacked so early in the morning.

"Hey skater boy didn't you hear us calling you?" Ashlyn asks as she rolls her eyes at her best friends antics.

"What? You were calling me? I didn't hear you" Ricky says, releasing a rushed breath. He sneaks a glance over Big Red at Gina rearranging books in her locker and hopes she doesn't leave too soon.

"I knew we were gonna have to get you that hearing aid." Big Red states, shaking his head and Ashlyn snorts.

"Dude for the last time, we were high. I just wasn't paying attention. That infomercial would've scammed us, I'm sure of it." Ricky presses as he shifts his focus back to his best friend. Thinking back to that one time in Red's basement when he'd been spilling his guts but Ricky hadn't heard a word because he was faded as shit, too caught up in his own thoughts about their class pet turtle named Emma that died in the third grade. Big Red had proceeded to turn his attention to the TV that was showcasing a variety of prime hearing aids for only 59.99. It took an only semi-high Ashlyn half the night to convince both of them actually purchasing one was an obvious mistake when they could just get an easy bake oven instead. It was a weird night.

"So what were you paying so much attention to?" Ashlyn pointedly questions, while Ricky spares another look at Gina, this one not so subtle. It doesn't go unnoticed.

"What?" Ricky says while still feeling the pressure of time on his shoulders, Gina could slip away at any given moment and he would have to elongate this perpetual state of awkwardness between them for at least another couple of days. **_and that can't happen._**

"Or who?" Big Red's eyes are already focused on the newly found object of the conversation, while Ashlyn squints in confusion.

"Look I'll catch you guys later." Ricky responds fast, his eyes widen a bit as he catches their confused glances; he shuffles through them and hurriedly makes his way to Gina.

"Wait we still need to talk-" _about what happened with your parents,_ Big Red calls out to him interrupted by his quick movements. Red sighs, as the pair watch him go.

"Since when do they talk?" Ashlyn notes both bemused and slightly puzzled. What Ricky was doing and what he was saying just didn't make any sense. One minute he's talking about how he's staying in the play for Nini but how some other girl got him to stay, and now he's really staying because of the friends he made in the play and now Ashlyn has a headache. She squints, looking to Ricky hurriedly making his way through the crowd to get to Gina. _Could she be the girl he got advice from?_ Trying to keep up with Ricky Bowen's thought process was hard.

"I don't know" Now it's Red's turn to squint questioningly. His brain clocks Ricky's weird tweets he's been posting on his private account lately, as he looks to the unexpected pair and his mind notes the possibility of something more happening beneath the surface.

"Hey Gina." Ricky says to a nearly startled Gina, the weight of his body lerches him forward with the combination of momentum of his fast pace and his sudden stop. It's only when she turns and Ricky's senses are taken with the unlikely combination of **_coconut and lilac?_** and her hair nearly whips him in the face, does he note the newfound proximity between them. Their eyes find one another immediately and it's like they mirror each other with their movements because lips part and eyes slightly widen. Only Ricky takes a step back nearly the instant it happens. Leaving no time for shoulders to lightly flare a familiar heat or for composures to be reset.

_All we do is drive_   
_All we do is think about the feelings that we hide_   
_All we do is sit in silence waiting for a sign_

"Oh Hey." Gina greets, as she lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding in.

There's a silence that settles between them. A tension that encapsulates the space, that's been following them both since the start of their "fake dating" almost as if it was waiting for one of them to crack first. Naturally, it was Ricky.

"Homecoming is happening tonight." He hears himself blurt rather ungracefully. Ricky's hands fidget, nearing his pockets to look any semblance of controlled. **smooth Bowen.** The plan was simple. Ricky would ask Gina to homecoming, she would hopefully say yes and not kill him (she can be kinda scary), Nini would be there, jealousy and pining ensues. Nini would confront him and he would finally prove she's not as over him as she thinks she is. **_Simple_**.

"Yeah I heard about that. I've never been to a homecoming dance before. Or many dances to be honest." Gina admits, clutching her books for her next class to her chest. _or one_ , she thinks to herself. Instead she had endless nights watching awful action movies cuddled up on the couch with her mom, Gina had convinced herself she wasn't missing anything. For the most part she really didn't think she was.

"Seriously?" Ricky looks to her curiously, a new found feeling of guilt bubbles in his stomach. Suddenly she doesn't look so scary in this light. He crosses his arms and leans on the locker next to hers. **_huh...maybe asking isn't the best way to go,_** his thoughts reflecting his doubt.

"Well, yeah." She responds, shrugging her book bag back on her shoulder. _Moving a million times over the course of your life can make you miss out on a few things_ , the teen thinks slightly bitter. Slightly.

"Well would you maybe want to go to the homecoming dance tonight?" the words tumble out of his mouth before he can speak otherwise. His eyes momentarily shut and Ricky lets out a quick sigh at the quickness of his words. ** _She's never been to a homecoming dance before you asshole, don't have THIS be her FIRST._** Ricky's ready to take it all back when she interjects.

"Umm I figured I probably have to. With you that is. Being your fake girlfriend and all." Gina replies, whispering the last part with a soft squinted glare. "Just didn't know if we were ever gonna get to talk about that." she continues, approaching the subject with caution.

"Right sorry about that it's just been a weird week especially with..." Ricky trails off, avoiding her eyes.

 _Avoiding, avoiding , avoiding_ ; it's been like that all week and it'll continue to be like that till someone breaks. Again. This time it's Gina.

 _Screw caution_.

"Okay look I know this whole fake dating thing is awkward but we can't stay in this weird dance for ever, because for one thing I don't do weird dances, I do flawless ones. And another, no one would believe we're a couple."

Ricky sighs, **_she's right_**. They needed to get started and soon. He already somewhat put the plan in action by being coy with Red and Ash about "a girl" but it was gonna take more than that to get Nini to think they're together. "You're right and you should say it." Gina snorts at his response while closing her locker.

"I think we should come up with some rules. If we follow them it might make them easier for us to know what to do around each other and stuff." The brunette proposes.

"Rules?" Ricky questions. This plan was shaping up to be not as simple as he thought for more reasons than one if he was being honest (which he hasn't been as of late). For one thing he's lying to literally everyone to get this plan to work and for another he's robbing Gina of her first real homecoming experience.

"Well more like guidelines, like what Lara Jean and Peter did." Gina explains, interrupting his train of thought.

"Who?" His brows furrow in further confusion.

 _No...not you,_ Gina thinks to herself in half-disbelief. "From to all the boys I've loved before?" She asks incredulously, Ricky shakes his head. A small half smile forms on his face as Gina tries to passionately explain how they're the inventors of the fake dating trope.

"Anyway we'll have watching the movie be one of the rules because duh." Gina states with a tone of finality.

"Okay if we're on the topic of movies I propose a movie rule of my own. It's only fair." Ricky says only half teasingly, leaning forward with his arms still crossed.

"Okay what movie?" Gina curiously asks, subconsciously mirroring his arms by crossing her own. Peter made Lara Jean watch Fight Club and she made him watch sixteen candles, Ricky was right, it was only fair. The only differentiation between the two pairings being Ricky and Gina haven't known each other since they were kids (unless this whole soulmate theory is right _, which is crazy_ ) and that absolutely no one in this scenario was gonna fall in love. Like at all. Gina doesn't know why her mind focuses on the parallel so much.

"Scott pilgrim vs. the world. Have you seen it?" Ricky softly asks, eyes hopeful.

"Nope but I've heard of it at least. Not a bad choice, Bowen." Gina answers teasingly calling him by his last name. She doesn't know why she's gotten so comfortable with someone she's known for such a limited amount of time, _Is this not our second time talking in person?!?_ Gina thinks to herself nearly stunned.It never happens this easily but Ricky seems different. It's like she can't help but be comfortable with him and it ironically sets her nerves (and defenses at some points) all the way up.

"Don't think I didn't catch the shade you just subtly threw, but uh thanks Porter." Gina lightly chuckles at his response and he can't help but smile at the clear sound bringing this warmth to his stomach he hasn't felt in years. It makes him feel a little breathless and it makes everything around Gina kinda blur and it's just her.

"We uh can talk about rules and stuff later that doesn't matter right now because you've never been to a homecoming dance. THE high school rite of passage, if anything we have to go ironically to make fun of everything." Ricky rambles looking toward his shoes, **_anything but Gina Porter._**

"Well now look at that, I actually want to go. And look if you're worried about ruining the experience or anything like that don't. We're going to get your girlfriend back and while I hate to admit it...I'm doing this whole thing partly to make f-fri-frien- I can't even say it." Gina says pretending to gag.

Ricky can't help but let out a laugh and the sound sits in Gina's head for longer than she'd like to admit, warmth bubbles in her stomach for a minute. He's stunned that she's able to guess the reason for his hesitance about the whole situation, **_how did she know that?_**

He feels a swarm of different emotions hit, among them being an absolution of guilt (partly) for the plan, warmth that hasn't left him since he heard her laugh and a growing curiosity. "What's the other reason?" Questions dart around his head but that one sticks out the most, he settles himself and finds the courage to look her in the eye.

Gina stiffens at the question and the eye contact, her mind automatically answers. _Because I think your my soulmate and my dead dad would want me to talk to you and finally make friends._ She's hesitant to answer and just as she's about to the first bell signaling second period rings loudly but nothing beats the rampant sounds of Gina's heart the minute it dropped when Ricky asked the question. She braves a smile and instead asks him a question, "Walk me to class?"

"Uh sure. Should we make this a rule?" Ricky asks, half-teasing, half-serious. He wants to be around her all of a sudden and doesn't really get why things were so weird with her in the first place. Then he remembers the skatepark. The warmth he felt in his stomach not even two minutes ago, his shoulder flaring a heat he hadn't felt since that summer day; since he broke up with Nini. _Nini,_ his normalcy, his comfort, all other thoughts solidifying what he feels for her and his parents marriage is back at a forefront. Ricky grips his book bag a little tighter and looks ahead while Gina smiles beside him.

"We could even hold hands too? To make it believable?" Ricky blames the spew of his thoughts purely on the fact that she smiled and that he just had to look at her. **_Dumbass_** _,_ he thinks to himself.

"Maybe, eventually." Gina replies, starting their walk toward her class (the closest) trying her damnest not to look so surprised, _I mean he's your fake boyfriend, of course your gonna have to h*ld h*nds._

"Yeah you're right, now might be too soon." Ricky nods, looking forward as they walk to her class. Gina visibly agrees by nodding along for the sake of subtly being a quality in their relationship, _because that'll make it come off as real right?_ Gina certainly doesn't oppose to it now because she'll probably combust if she holds his hand. Definitely not.

* * *

* * *

It takes Kourtney a minute to realize what she's seeing before she see's it. The sight being a softly smiling Ricky leaning into a wildly gesturing Gina that turns to mirror his position, arms crossed against the lockers. This of course means it takes Nini a millisecond to see the sight before her, only because she's in shock at the unprecedented onslaught of flirty banter from "Rina" as Carlos now dubbed them. Kourtney blocks Nini's view with a quickness and snatches the phone from the smaller girl.

"Kourt!" Nini nearly yells.

"Nope no, I see that face I know what's coming. You are not gonna start spiraling over things you don't know." Kourtney pointedly tells her, holding the device above her away from Nini's reach.

"Things I don't know? Do you have eyes Kourt?" the shorter brunette answered incredulously. "With that yellow heart he commented he basically just proposed to her on instagram for the world to see." Nini continued, her face scrunched.

Kourtney gave her that mom stare that she always gave her, that told her to watch her tone. Nini always apologetically smiled when her best friend made that face. This time she cringed partly because she realized how much of a hypocrite she sounded and the other because she had seen the view Kourt was trying so hard to hide from her this time not on her screen but on the other side of the hall, in close proximity to one another.

Nini quickly averts her gaze so Kourt doesn't notice her watching, but she does because Kourtney always does and she lets out a deep sigh as she hands Nini back her phone.

"Do you think they know?" Nini subtly whispers, avoiding her best friends empathetic eyes.

"Nini for the last time we don't know that they're soulmates." Kourtney says, with a tone of finality to her voice. Her point bounces around in Nini's head because the sound of her locker closing emphasizes it and suddenly they're on their way to their AP U.S history class.

"Are you kidding me? I thought you said this was making more sense. I mean look at the evidence. Also the fact that they're talking more now?" Nini presses as Kourtney keeps a fast pace ahead of her, _I'm not getting another tardy for this mess,_ Kourtney thinks as her best friend continues to rant about the presumed 'soulmates'.

"Okay I did say that and things do add up but that doesn't make it any of our damn business Nini!" She exclaims as Nini catches up to her fast pace walk to class, nearly out of breath she fixes her another look. _Man Gym class is really not helping he out,_ The short brunette girl thinks to herself while she get's ready to argue in her defense but before she can Kourtney throws her another question.

"Look what's really bothering you about this whole thing?" Kourtney finally asks. After weeks of beating around the bush at the subject, the subject being Nini's almost freaky FBI skills when it came to figuring out Ricky's soulmate situation (that has yet to be confirmed), the way Nini's eyes would hone in on Ricky looking at Gina from across the room at rehearsals (looking almost afraid to approach her? but that's besides the point), at the lowkey pining looks that Ricky's too oblivious to notice because apparently someone else caught his eye.

"I-I don't know Kourt."

"Yes you do. You want him back don't you? Girl we cannot go through the mess that was July over again I'm telling y-"

"I know. It's just..I think I still like him...I don't know what's going on or what I want" Nini exasperatedly explains, suddenly stopping their tread to class, sighing out her frustrations. "I hung out with Ashlyn the other day and she mentioned writing her own music and the feeling of control that I came with that. I just wish I could find it but I feel like it escapes me sometimes." Nini admits, students crowding around them lessen and loud idle chatter is drowned out a bit when the first bell rings.

"You think writing some of your own songs is gonna help with that? Alone?" Kourtney asks, subtly nodding her head toward the door of their class ahead of them.

"Yeah. Just me being in my own space writing about anything but boys. I think I need it." Nini admits, nodding her head along with the words as they both take their seats near the window. _Yeah I do,_ she thinks to herself settling in her seat. The stress of rehearsals, trying her best to earn her role and feel comfortable in it along with figuring out the identity of who you thought was eventually gonna be your soulmate's actual soulmate was, can turn out to be quite a lot to handle. Kourtney smiles at her friends self awareness, _now look at growth,_ she thinks to herself. Though Kourtney's smile starts to fade when she realizes what that means for her tonight.

"So just fuck homecoming I guess." Kourtney teasingly says with a light chuckle. Nini can hear the soft tone of disappointment in her voice in an instant and Nini's hand is on her arm right then.

"Hey Kourt you should still go." Just because she wasn't going doesn't mean she didn't want her best friend to have a good time, Kourtney deserved it. _Dealing with my insane 2am rants, yeah Kourt deserves the world,_ Nini thinks softly smiling to her friend.

"You sure you wanna be alone?" Kourtney asks looking to her skeptically while Ms. Wagner tries to settle the class in when the second bell rings. 

She's not. Nini never really wants to be alone.

But she wants Kourt to have a good time at the dance and she may not _want_ it but she _needs_ this time for herself. So she reel's in all her acting prowess she's had to use for the musical and plasters a smile, "Yes I'm sure and do yourself a favor let your sister pick out some stuff for you please. She's not here for long she just wants to spend time with you."

And like clockwork Kourtney's eyes roll at the mention of her older sister, Nini has to stifle a laugh at her expression change.

 _"_ I'm sure Kiara would love that!" Kourtney practically sings with a false sickeningly sweet tone.

"Kourtney.." Nini warns with a warm glare. Most times Kourtney could definitely be described as the mom in this friendship but some times when her older sister, Kiara (who goes to FIT, The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, because she has to beat her at everything) is brought into the picture or when she procrastinates, the roles switch. Perfectly balancing the other out since 6th grade that was Nini and Kourtney.

"Fine, fine I'll let the witch pick out an **accessory** and that's it." Kourtney sassily replies, turning to face forward so Ms. Wagner would get her undivided attention (only given when her and Nini weren't sending each other meme's or passing notes in class, they liked to keep things old school sometimes) as she started lecturing.

Nini lets the laugh slip a bit this time, Kourtney was just too funny sometimes. Ms. Wagner fixes her a look at the slight disruption from the start of her lecture, specifically raised eyebrow that threatens a detention she can't afford with rehearsals in full swing. When she looks away Kourtney can't help but look back at Nini and their stifled laughter nearly chokes them for five minutes. Both their lungs hurt as they quietly grasp for air and when Nini looks to her best friend again, composure reset and all, she could not be more grateful.

_That's my best friend._

* * *

**The Porter Residence**   
**October 4th 2019**   
**6:48pm**

**_This isn't a good idea. This isn't a good idea. This isn't a good idea._ **

Ricky Bowen knows a thing or two about bad ideas. This homecoming plan he's cooked up is really not one of his best and everything will probably blow up in his face before anything even happens especially with his luck as of late. **_We couldn't even talk to each other until a few hours ago how the hell we gonna pull this off?_**

His fingers tap the wheel nervously, Ricky's eyes drift to the clock on the dash of Red's car. Looking to the key's in the ignition he thinks about ditching this whole plan for the billionth time today. **_Gina would probably be on board with it_** _,_ He thinks to himself as his fidgeting stops. With his thoughts running rampant, it comes back to him again like the chorus of one of the hsm songs he's had to rehearse again and again these past few weeks.

**_This isn't a good-_ **

The thought is interrupted when Gina steps outside and decides to unknowingly take his breath captive, something he didn't know she was capable off. His eyes don't leave her as he fiddles with the car door handle because apparently those things could be tricky when your hands felt as weak as your knees. When he finally gets (stumbles) out of the car, Gina stops and their eyes meet.

Neither know if the warmth that flares from their soul marks when ever they look at each other means something or if it will ever stop. Ricky wonders if his face is as red as his tie he had to wear so he could match her dress because the electricity held between their gazes travels like a live wire and it snaps when Ricky looks to his shoes and ask's if she's ready to go.

"Oh uh yeah, Let me just um let my mom know I'm leaving hang on."

He hears shuffling coming from inside as he composes himself, readjusting his tie and taking a deep breath. **_What the fuck was that?_**

The minor scuffling he hears when Gina comes out with her mom greets him with an onslaught of phrases consisting of "No mom it's really not necessary" along with "sweetie don't be ridiculous". They both make their way to the final steps, he stands by the freshly planted azalea's where the 'just sold' house sign used to be by the driveway. Ms. Porter holds a camera and an awkward smile while Gina seems to look anywhere but Ricky and purses her lips.

"Hi Ricky is it?" Ms. Porter greets holding out her hand.

By now Ricky's finally taken his gaze away from Gina, as impossible as it seemed to be, and shakes her mothers hand with a firm grip. "Hi Ms. Porter. uh yes its Ricky. Um Ricky B-Bowen." He manages to stutter out finally.

At the mention of his full name she fixes Gina a meaningful look, it's quick but he still notices the way her eyes now bounce between them before she comment's on his handshake, "Nice grip." Ms. Porter smiles again but this time it's more natural as she continues to look from Gina back to him. It sets him at ease and so he gives her one back. Gina takes real interest in the way her red high heeled shoes look in the now orange sun's glare.

"Would you mind if I got just a quick photo of you both before you go?" She asks bringing the camera up at a better angle to capture them both.

"Mom we have to leave soon I don-"

"Sure I don't mind a few pictures. It's actually still pretty early. I was thinking we'd get something to eat first?" Ricky lets out a small laugh, spots of red appear on his face while he slightly nervously scratches the back of his neck. Gina's eyes widen, she shifts more toward the side toward the car.

"Oh" Gina breathes out. Admittedly, she was used to being the one that came up with all the plans. The one that made the dust and was left when it settled and that was usually alone but now Ricky's literally beside her and she doesn't really know how to handle it because she's going to her first real dance and when he looks at her (sometimes) it makes her feel warm. It travels from that spot on her shoulder where the initials are right down to her toes and-

_Oh my god is his hand on my waist?!_

Gina lets out a deep breath, thoughts running rampant in her mind. She hope, prays, that if he is who she really thinks he is he can't hear her thoughts right now. Ricky looks to her profile almost as if he was checking if she was okay while his hand ever so lightly settled on her waist and they can't look each other in the eye. They still can't have the conversation about electricity, warmth that travels from marks, and anything else relatively close to what happens when they lock eyes and neither are ready to ask why either.

"It's her first dance, I figured I'd get as many as she'd let me." Ms. Porter nearly whispers the last part teasingly. It's enough to bring Gina back into the moment, she furrows her brows in annoyance and confusion. _Since when does she have jokes? especially about this kinda thing?_ Normally it would be her father trying to get her out with friends, to dances, and birthday parties that were outside of the family because it was "healthy" but now ever since they moved here it was like her mom was taking on a different role and Gina's not sure if she likes it.

"Mom!" Gina exclaims in rebuttal.

Ricky chuckles and Gina shakes her head slightly, he hears the camera click a shot. "Oh Genevieve honey don't shake your head this time."

"Genevieve?" Ricky questions with an all too amused grin that Gina wants to smack off his face but also keep ingrained in her mind forever.

"Yeah that's my name please **don't** bother wearing it out."

This time he laughs and its more than a chuckle or stifled movement, its full and that warm feeling is back again. Blooming from a place deep within her, the expanses of her skin from the very start of that mark to the end of her toes, she feels his laugh and is all too caught up in the sound. The way a stray curl sort of falls in front to his forehead. All leading to his eyes, looking at her with mirth and new found interest like he wasn't expecting her to say what she did or be who she was.

The camera clicks again while the gaze holds and Ms.Porter hums out an approving tune. "Yep that's the one."

Gina's breath hitches and Ricky stiffens next to her, his eyes nearing bugging out. She would be making fun of his reaction, if her mom hadn't completely lost her mind and just implied the first boy to ever take her to her first dance was "the one". _Is she okay in the head?_ Gina questions to herself, mouth agape.

"Mom!" She calls to her again. 

"What? It's the photo. It came out nice! I know you're not talking to me crazy." Ms. Porter responds innocently shrugging her shoulders, eyes narrowed at her daughters tone. Ricky breathes out what sounds like a sigh of relief combined with a short chuckle. Gina starts to count the seconds Ricky's hand leaves her side as he lightly shakes, looking down to his black shoes again.

"Well mom we're gonna head out." _finally,_ Gina thinks that last part to herself not wanting to test her mothers patience with her tone.

"It was nice to meet you Ms. Porter." Ricky says, nodding to her and Gina's already got the passengers seat door open.

"You too Ricky. Hope to see you around more." Ms.Porter answers with an elegant smile, Gina's hand freezes on the door handle while she fixes her mom an incredulous look. _cut the cameras..deadass,_ The curly haired teen thinks to herself taken back by her mothers openness.

"I'll have her back by 11:30." Ricky replies, a small smile rests on his lips.

"I'll hold you to that young man." Mr. Porter teases with a final wave to them both, she settles on the steps and watches Ricky turn back to the car door. Gina decidedly ducks her way inside the orange car, and shrinks herself into the seat, disassociating herself from whatever parallel universe scenario was playing out outside of the car. She feels a little better when she hears Ricky put the keys in ignition and they pull out of her driveway, away from her mothers gaze.

Ricky's eyes shift from the road ahead to her profile and the cheeky grin that slowly grows on his face starts to grate on Gina's nerves, the feeling impossibly still alights this giddiness and she has to fight a smile because his smile might just be that infectious. _Men really are a disease_.

"What?" Gina finally questions, her face burning as he seemingly turns to her for the billionth time with the smile still plastered on his face he keeps his eyes on the road, _thankfully_.

"Nothing... _Genevieve_." Ricky says her name teasingly while he keeps his eyes trained on the road.

"Okay-" _here it comes,_ Gina thinks to herself waiting for his onslaught of teases on the name. The night hasn't even really started and she's sick of him.

"Are you living a double life? Have you actually been Hannah Montana this entire time we've known each other?" Ricky asks, an eyebrow quirked. He's not gonna lie learning her real name threw him for a loop. He wasn't expecting Gina Porter, or Genevieve 'Gina' Porter to be so interesting yet here he is asking her questions about herself at a mile a minute and he doesn't really want to ask himself why.

"Which has been what? like 5 days" Gina has to interject at least to get him to catch his breath, she casts a look to his profile just to be sure he has as the questions keep coming.

"Are you a secret agent? Not gonna lie Red, might totally be into that." He asks like he didn't hear her, and his face spells a curious desire for whatever it is she has to say. It makes her want to throw up every vulnerability she's ever known right then and there. It's terrifying.

"My dad gave me that name... When he taught me how to write it out when I was little I always complained it took too long to write and that I wanted something shorter so we came up with Gina and yeah..." It's like a dam breaks. _Yeah Gina at the first chance you get share your vulnerabilities with someone (that's in a car with you and has no choice but to listen) because you haven't done it in years and sure it might be used against you or blow up in your face but hey he might be your soulmate??_ The thoughts in her head pester at her and she wants to shrink back into the passengers seat again but something inside her doesn't let her.

Ricky notes the sadness that drips from her voice now as her eyes shift from the dash board to her deep red high heeled shoes, for some reason he feels like he has brace himself for what she's about to say.

"He died a couple years back." Gina admits, she whispers the words like their forbidden and she'd give anything to take them back.

"Oh...I'm sorry." He says it and means it. Gina knows after years of false smiles, pitting looks, and "Everything is gonna be okay's" when it's genuine, when it's real. When Ricky say's it, there's nothing but sincerity coated in his words. His hands curiously itch to take her freshly manicured palm and stroke the pain etched across her face away, so he grips the wheel tighter while the silence in the car settles.

Ricky chances another look at her before he hears the words come tumbling out of his mouth. "Your mom seems pretty cool" He says breaking the silence, she blinks.

Gina lets out a groan, "I'm so sorry about her. It's my first dance so that's why she was so...excited?" she says questioning the words as they even come out of her mouth.

"Which isn't like her?" Ricky asks keeping her questioning tone in mind, **_Ms. Porter seemed kinda dope_** **.**

"Not really. Being excited about this stuff, that was more my dad's thing." Gina says, looking out the window to the mundane salt lake city houses.

"Well I thought it was cute and for what it's worth I don't even think my mom knew I was going to this dance tonight or even cares. I haven't really talked to her in a while..." Ricky doesn't know why his entire life story nearly spills out of him but it does. **_Hi wow let's scare Gina off with our abandonment issues why don't we?_**

"Do you want to talk about it?" She broaches the subject like she's carrying a heavy vase, swerving every possible direction to maintain its balance just as she wants to keep the air in the car from being snuffed out by this conversation.

"Not really no." Ricky replies lowly, his eyes fixated on the minimal traffic ahead. The silence isn't exactly uncomfortable and right about now Gina wishes she was that person with the adept social skills her father pushed her to be. Sometimes she is, she can't help it her charm sort of just shines through. This is not one of those moments.

"Your mom seemed pretty normal about this whole thing to me." Ricky pointedly says, breaking the silence with a slightly teasing tone.

"You saw her, she was more excited about this than I was." Gina breathes, eyebrows scrunching at the observation.

"Wait so you're telling me you're not completely over the moon to be color coordinating with me?" Ricky gestures to his red tie and just like that the atmosphere changes it almost gives them both whiplash.

Mike Bowen was stubborn man, to put it simply it was difficult getting him to give his only son his lucky red tie but Ricky did it because tonight was important. Tonight his plan was gonna finally be put in action and Gina was going to her first dance. **_Everything is gonna be fine._** Ricky thinks, his eyes shifting from the red light to Gina. The light bounces off the deep shade of velvet that is her dress and he has trouble remembering what he was going to say next.

Gina feels his eyes on her and even though the chill from the October air hadn't found its way inside the heated car since they stepped in, she slightly shivers. "That was a really last minute decision, I should've left your ass in the dust." she teases him, brushing off the feeling and it comes easily.

"But you didn't." Ricky nearly sings out in response.

"I didn't, and you know what Bowen we didn't do half bad." This time she's the one that lets her eyes wander his frame. His black suit rests in contrast to the deep shade of red from his tie and Gina decides the suit fits him well with the cheeky grin he wears at her response.

"You know Red's gonna be excited about this by the way. The fact that were color coordinating. His puns only get worse and worse whenever I wear red." Ricky replies, hoping his cheeks have regained their pale disposition.

"I can only imagine. You bring him up a lot...are you sure this whole thing isn't just to make **him** jealous? hmm?" Gina asks an eyebrow quirked. She's half teasing and she's half serious. Of course Gina knows that Nini is definitely the end all be all considering her place in this whole plan but she can't help but wonder about him. Ricky Bowen is a disastrous mystery that she has to decode. _God help me._

"...much to think about." He slowly responds and Gina laughs.

Looking to her smile Ricky can't help but think about the endless nights playing video games with his best friend, pudding eating contests that would make their stomach's hurt and left Red scarred from ever **looking** at the tapioca pudding flavor, and pre-made lunches given to him by his mom, a snack always packed for the red haired boy that for a time made his heart stutter in his chest. Before the whole soulmate thing became a concept, before Ricky thought about anyone else there was Red. Not Minnie Mouse like he'd told Nini before he'd come out but his closest friend, the reason for his disastrous Bisexual awakening that thankfully his parents were very accepting towards later on. His dad being the most hesitant at first, but quickly catching on thanks to his mom. Twisting the knife further, making it all the more difficult to reconcile that his mom, one of the first people to accept him was the first to go.

Of course eight year old Ricky Bowen being the chaotic Bi mess he was could not keep this momentous secret from his best friend, so he told him. Red in return tells him about the butterflies in his stomach when they accidentally touch hands and how he doesn't know what it means and Ricky feels closer to him than anyone. But the sketch of a basketball that rests on Red's left upper thigh that he's had since he was four and Ricky meeting Nini changes things again. Feelings fade and fate wins but Red and Ricky remain the best of friends. Red constantly reminds Ricky that he's out of his league nearly everyday since then.

"He's way out of my league." He says looking back to the road with a fond smile.

"I agree." Gina hums, nodding.

Ricky hesitates in what to say next. He's been out as of two years ago and yeah its not something that's outwardly just sitting in all of his social media accounts so coming out over and over again is always a bit of an unsettling thing in the Salt Lake area where everyone knows everything about everyone. He wants her to know, the urge to spill his guts rises by the minute and its not an unfamiliar feeling thanks to Red so he runs with it.

"Red never fails to remind me that ever since I told him I had a crush on him in the second grade." He tries his best to keep his voice from cracking. Ricky grips the wheel a bit tighter with both hands this time, steadying himself from a given reaction.

Gina's glossed lips part slightly before a small smile rests there, "Well if it's any consolation I don't think anyone has ever had as much of an obsession or massive crush as I had on Mary Elizabeth Winstead in Sky High"

"She was so hot." Ricky exclaims excitedly, the tension in his shoulders immediately dissolving. **_Not us both being bi disasters,_** the curly haired junior thinks to himself shaking his head, this time with his lips lightly parted in awe.

"My dad nearly grounded me because he didn't want me to watch it anymore since he was sick of hearing me talk about her so much." Gina laughed at the memory. The thought prickled like a rose thorn and her mind bleed another thought, another memory. Suddenly she smells the awful scent of anti septic and she feels her fathers hand cold in hers telling her he already knew who his daughter was and that he loved all of her anyway, stopping the tears streaking down her cheeks. _Of course he knew, dad always knew._ Her straightened hair blocks the view of her face, her smile dissolving into something much sadder, she looks down to her red shoes again. Wishing that if she clicked them together it would take her back, back to the feeling of her dad's arms around her, the only home she's ever known.

Ricky feels the air of the car shift again so he hopes that what he does next doesn't make matters worse. He switches on the radio and hopes that the music will take them to a comfortable space. He hopes that tonight everything doesn't just go well for him but that everything is perfect for Gina tonight because he's coming to realize it might be what she deserves.

The cars suddenly filled with the blaring horns and prominent of singing an iridescent melody all too familiar to Gina. 'Try a little tenderness' by Louis Armstrong plays and Ricky reaches to change the station to something a teen from this century might want to hear but her head snaps up and her hand follows the same pattern in reaching for his to stop the motion. The small soft smile resting on her lips at the song becomes apparent. "No leave it. I like this song."

"Yeah?"

Gina can't trust the words to come out because she's feeling all too much. Sadness that her father wasn't there to take her picture, confusion at her mothers sudden involvement in her life that wasn't centered around her ambition and that she'd already found a friend in Carlos despite years of work she'd put into being alone, and a vulnerability like she's never known with Ricky right in this moment. _Because of Ricky?_ Gina's never felt more exposed. So she nods and wraps her arms around her frame as much she can in the passengers seat.

It's only when Ricky after a couple seconds of just letting the music play, starts bopping along and playfully singing the lyrics like only a theater kid would does Gina feel a laugh and serene feeling that blankets over her soul arise. Her father puffing his cheeks and mimicking Armstrong's movements on the trumpet as they sing along flashes in her mind but now in the drivers seat Ricky remains waiting for her to finish the next line in the song.

So she does.

It's the first time in a while Gina thinks of her father and it doesn't make her sad. They sing, they laugh and the warmth from both their shoulders spread all over.

* * *

**East High School**   
**October 4th 2019**   
**9:04 pm**

Red is not used to school dances.

Standing by the punch table with his plastic cup half full and an endless stream of lights, people, and bright colors, Red was ready for the night to finally start. This dance was gonna be different from all the other ones that have otherwise ended in disaster. The first time the stinky's (except ash)✨ group chat (Ashlyn a pansexual princess, Ricky the bisexual disaster and himself, a chaotic gay) went to their first dance was freshman year, all of them were pretty much out and ready to experience their very first homecoming. The only thing impeding what otherwise would've been a great night was the fact that they had all decided they would get high together for the first time a half and hour before Red's dad was going to drive them all there. Ricky somehow ended up in Red's bath tub a giggling mess, Ashlyn was playing with the decorative marbles, considering eating them while Red sat on his toilet and had an existential crisis. Needless to say it was a weird night.

However tonight (not like other nights they decidedly skipped the dances) was supposed to be the standard normal high school dance experience. Which is why the appearance of a certain curly (now waves?) haired brunette and his also curly haired best friend threw him off. He notices the color of Ricky's tie matched the long length of her red dress. But it wasn't just any tie. it was Mike Bowen's lucky tie of all tie's, the one that he let big red borrow at their eighth grade graduation because his anxiety about going to high school was through the roof so he gave it to him for good luck, _yeah that tie_.

They're starting to pose for pictures together, just as Ricky is about to subtly place his hand on Gina's waist when Ashlyn approaches him where he stands by the punch table.

"Wow they sure clean up nice." She comments immediately taking sight of "Rina" as Carlos had fittingly dubbed them this afternoon, taking pictures together. Ricky makes a silly face at the camera and Gina looks at him strangely before throwing her head back in laughter. _That'll probably make for a nice picture,_ Red thinks to himself as they watch the pair. Ricky continues to pester her to make a face with him and it surprisingly works because she huffs yet smiles into their next picture, posing a silly face.

"I don't think I've ever seen Gina laugh. Have you?" Ashlyn asks him, her eyebrow lifting with question at the pair. Gina Porter was definitely the intimidating type. She made it clear the first couple of weeks at school with her unprecedented showcase of her talent and ambition. Which of course there wasn't anything wrong with being ambitious...when it doesn't get in peoples way. Or when it works to isolate yourself so that no one really knows who you are outside of this intimidating shell shown to the world.

"You think she convinced him to stay in the show?" Red outwardly asks.

The question had been building up for a few weeks now. Ever since Gina had oddly approached him and Carlos on the day Ricky swore he would leave the show. It sat on his tongue when Ricky talked about a mysterious girl getting him to come back, when the pairs eyes met earlier in the day in the cafeteria and it bounced back and forth in his mind when he saw the pair together this morning again.

"What?" Ashlyn blinks looking away from the pair, her smokey eye shadow glimmering in the colorful lights.

"I've been thinking since we saw them together this morning and all the cryptic tweets and stuff...maybe they're like together now and Ricky wanted to keep it a secret."

"I get why'd he'd wanna maybe keep it a secret, considering this crazy theory is real but why would he not tell us? Also what about Nini?" Ashlyn carefully broaches setting down her cup on the table.

"I don't know." Red replies looking away from her and back to the pair. His eyes squint in suspicion as the pair make their way over, Ricky's jittery in that way that he always is but there's a glimmer in his eyes that matches Gina's and it's all happening so _suddenly_. _Sumn isn't adding up_ , the red haired boy thinks to himself.

"Seb I told you, you'd wanna get that drink **after** we dance." Carlos energetically says interrupting Red's musings, with a worn looking Seb trailing behind him.

"I figured we're not at rehearsals maybe you were gonna cut me some slack for a night." Seb replies slightly out of breath from his soulmates desire to dance to more than 6 tracks, one after the other, all of them not consisting of slow songs. Sharpay demanded the best of the best in all areas, singing, dancing, and acting so Seb was used to the physical exhaustion but for tonight he thought it was just gonna be his chance to hold Carlos close to him and laugh at the cliches they were bound to spot tonight. This was not that kind of night. At least not yet.

"Oh honey." Carlos replied to him in a sweet tone as he pours Seb the drink he needed. _It's cute that you thought that,_ he finishes in his head.

Ashlyn giggled at the pair and Red tried to stifle a laugh, Seb's hands firmly planted on his knees as he took a breath and stood. Grabbing the cup from his hand he shakes his head at Carlos with a small grin planted on his lips. All the while Carlos looks at him with innocent eyes and a soft smile of his own asking for all to be forgiven.

It seems it is when Seb peppers his face with kisses and Carlos is reduced to a giggling mess.

"Oh no, no, no none of that soulmate shit here please." Ashlyn whines at the affectionate pair.

"Ash don't be bitter." Seb pouts, wrapping his arm around Carlos and placing his head on his shoulder.

"Please like you aren't our biggest stan." Carlos readily replies with a teasing smirk.

"You got me there." Ashlyn replies, her lips fighting a smile at her friends happiness.

"You guys are adorable." Red observes with a nod.

"You've always been my favorite Red." Carlos says.

Red proudly beams in response while Ashlyn lets out a small huff, the tiniest pout painted on her face. Seb rubs her arm reassuring her of her place as their favorite. Carlos looks to the incoming pair his eyes nearly bulging, he realizes her has to talk with his hands so he lets go of Seb, "Speaking of faves oh my God, Gina you look gorg!" 

"Thanks you don't look too bad yourself. This blazer is kinda giving me life." Gina smiles, taking in his dark suit.

"Uh hello what about me?" Ricky chimes in, grabbing his own beverage from the table. He takes sip and nearly gags at the overload of sugar and surprising lack of alcohol. _How have they not spiked it yet?_ he thinks looking down at his cup.

"What about you?" Carlos asks looking to him

"I'm serving." Ricky confidently responds as he drinks. Carlos' eyes nearly pop out of his head but Gina beats him to a response, _it's almost too easy_. "Me punch maybe" She tells him with a nod to the punch bowl. Ashlyn agrees while Red's eyes pace back and forth between them now noticing their both wearing red and the billions of puns he's cataloging in his brain at the moment. Seb tries to contain a laugh again while Carlos gives her a high five.

"I thought we didn't do half bad, Porter." Ricky says eyes squinting in her direction.

"I think I was mainly taking about me." she replies and it's all too natural, _all too easy_. Gina doesn't know how he makes it that way, if he has anything to do with it at all.

"Well that I can't disagree with." it's all Ricky says with a confidence that came from a place all too foreign to him. it's enough to momentarily make his brain short circuit as he brings the cup to his lips and takes the normally curly haired brunette's breath away.

 _The girls are flirting!_ Carlos thinks to himself, eyes wide, he and Ashlyn share a look that practically reads "right in front of my salad?" Gina's head snaps to meet his gaze but Ricky's relaxed now, lightly smiling into his cup looking into the crowd already forming. girl in red blares a familiar song.

The theater kids are seemingly caught in a staring game and Carlos is about to break it when he reaches for Gina's arm. Seb looks him in his eyes, asking him to tread lightly but Ricky beats Carlos to it. His lightly flared cheeks no longer slightly covered by a red solo cup are on full display when he settles his cup down and grabs Gina's arm for a dance.

"I love this song!" He exclaims and Gina's mind reels at the contact. She looks back to the group they've left behind. A smiling Ashlyn, Bashful Seb, Red whose eyes are squinting slightly and Carlos who looked like he was gonna explode if he didn't get answers. Their eyes lock for a moment while Gina's being pulled in a different direction, promising the answers to the question she doesn't even know the answers to. "we fell in love in October" plays out all around the gymnasium as the pair make their way to the dance floor.

"Umm...what was that? Also since when does Ricky dance?" Seb says the words present in Carlos's mind and the group seems to take a collective breath.

"It's new to us too believe me." Ashlyn states, shrugging her shoulders. She looks to Gina, resisting a smile as she tries to get Ricky, to do more than one basic dance move at a time all while trying to contain laughter.

"I can't believe Gina didn't tell me." Carlos sighs. Yes the dancers had been friends for a limited amount of time but there was an understanding there regardless. A pact forged in loneliness they both recognized within one another that he knew she would understand.

"Yeah." Red responds. He notices Ricky spare looks around the room as if he was looking for someone, waiting for something to happen. Red notes how his expression changes when Gina looks back at him though, now it's like she's all Ricky can focus on. _Interesting_.

"I can't believe it either."

* * *

**East High School**   
**October 4th 2019**   
**10:28pm**

Ashlyn Moon Caswell has always loved the idea of soulmates. They were basically all around her. Most of her family consisted of soulmate pairings, people that brought out the best in each other. Carlos and Seb had just found out they were soulmates and it was like everything fell into place. Soulmates were everywhere. Except for hers.

It's not like it bothered her...much. She wasn't like EJ. Someone willing to compromise a soulmate rather than wait for the real thing. Ashlyn knew better than to rush life. So for right now she dances with her best friends because she's gonna make most of her night.

"Oh no honey we're not done yet, once you get that drink you're coming back here." a dancing Carlos calls out to her as she makes her way from the crowd. She turns to face him and starts walking backwards, facing an exhausted Seb and fully energized Carlos from a distance Ashlyn calls back, "Only if you can catch m-"

And she's suddenly falling. Ashlyn doesn't really consider herself considerably clumsy but being at such close proximity to her disaster of a best friend and Red, she wouldn't necessarily say they've rubbed off on her in many ways but maybe in this moment, she would say they did. Stumbling backwards the red-haired girl grabs for anything to regain stability. It stops when she's caught and her back is sort of on fire. _Woah,_ Ashlyn thinks to herself, eyes wide.

She turns to find her self in a trust fall stance of sorts with Kourtney, "Woah, hey you okay?" Kourtney asks, with her eyebrows furrowing in concern. Ashlyn starts to straighten herself from her current position and the warmth of Kourtney's hands leave her back. More than that, this heat at the pit of her stomach that developed when she was caught, lingers.

"Y-Yeah I'm fine." Ashlyn stutters out a breath. It's now that notices Kourtney give her a small smile in response, while holding open her clutch in her hand.

"Sorry for sort of bumping into you I was looking for my lip stick I'm pretty sure it fell out of my bag and now I have no idea where it is."

"Oh hey don't worry about it. I should've been watching where I was going instead of walking backwards like a maniac." Ashlyn responds with a shrug. Kourtney gives her another small smile and her eyes drift toward the ground again to find the dark plum shade. The heat at the pit of Ashlyn's stomach swoops like a tidal wave. Whatever is happening she's not sure she want's the feeling to leave so she follows it like she's walking through garden.

"I-I can help you look for it." Kourtney's eyebrows raise in question. "It'll make make it easier to find in this crowd of people if we look together," They both take note of the increasing mass of people now hitting the dance floor and newly empty seats. "Besides I guess I kinda owe you for saving me from completely embarrassing myself at this thing." Ashlyn finishes, getting closer to Kourtney.

Kourtney's stills at the action but lets out a laugh and when she looks up her gold eye shadow and her eyes shine when it's caught in the light from the disco ball. "You made some points." She says as she lifts the the snack tables plastic covering a few inches, looking for the small tube of lipstick.

Ashlyn lets out the breath she's holding now that the other girl is looking away and proceeds to look down to the ground to find it. _What the hell is happening?_ she now proceeds to ask herself as she spells a bunch of apologizes to people walking off the dance floor. They'd met in middle school and knew each other the way everyone that went to middle school knew each other, because their friends were dating. After the break up it was kinda like their friend group faded with it. Nini off to theater camp, Kourtney in New York with her sister, Red away to see his uncle in Florida and herself off to the Hamptons with her parents, Ricky was the only person in salt lake for the summer; their friend group was sort of on pause.

Now with the play the gang was sort of back together again. she'd noticed Kourtney in rehearsals, bright and eager about costumes. Her smile basically shining brighter than any spotlight she'd seen there and- _OH MY GOD I HAVE A CRUSH ON KOURTNEY???_ Ashlyn suddenly asks herself, her eyes now wide as they'll ever be. A small plum shade just as quickly makes it way to her sight, it's near a pair of silver shoes so she quickly grabs it before its destroyed in admits the chaos. _When did that happen?_ Her thoughts continue as she stands pin straight when she hears Kourtney call her name. "Ashlyn" she calls again and it startles her so much that she drops the lipstick in her hand.

"Oh you found it." Kourtney says.

"I got it!" The fiery haired girl exclaims. Kourtney's eyebrows furrow as Ashlyn ducks below her to grab a the plum colored small tube. Her eyes quickly look past sleek black pair of high heeled shoes to a point above her ankle, a small detailed drawing of a sword lied. In that moment Ashlyn has trouble taking her eyes away from the drawing she'd seen since the 7th grade on her own ankle. She's so caught up in it she doesn't notice Kourtney calling her name again.

Ashlyn snaps back up again and Kourtney staggers a bit at their new proximity, while she hands her back the lipstick. "Are you sure you're okay?" Kourtney slowly asks her before she takes it from her hand. "I'm fine" Ashlyn says, taking a breath, gesturing her friend to take the lipstick. Their hands brush as the object and a small current passed through them.

She hears Kourtney let out a small gasp while Ashlyns own lips part and suddenly her throats dry and she could go for some punch again. So she clears her throat, "Nice tattoo."

"Oh um thanks it's my mark." Kourtney responds a little awkwardly, their gazes hold for a beat. _It can't be a coincidence_ , Ashlyn thinks to herself, she feels her head nodding at its own volition.

"I-I'll see you in a beat. A bit! I meant a bit." The Red haired girl says, nervously laughing. _Where the fuck is Red?_

* * *

"You know Red hasn't made a single pun like you said he would."

Ricky wants to listen to the words coming out of Gina's mouth he really does.

But the pink, red and golden lights, the length of her dress and big doe brown eyes aren't enough to distract from the fact that another pair of brown eyes haven't made their appearance for the night.

This was supposed to be a night where the plan was supposed to be set in motion. Where Nini was supposed to see how stunningly gorgeous Gina looked, Ricky pauses at that thought. ** _I'm definitely not the only person that thinks that she looks amazing, Carlos brought it up too. right. exactly._** He shakes his head of those thoughts _._ ** _Im definitely not gonna think of about what any of that means_**. His brain short-circuits again when he looks at her, sipping on her punch.

Tonight was supposed to be Nini reacting to how they looked together, all couple-y and reveal the truth. That she still had feelings for him. That those little moments they still had sometimes still meant something and weren't all in Ricky's head. When he came to get her and Ashlyn from the auditorium, or when he left her that voicemail or when he went to her house and they almost **kissed** that it all meant something **.** _Nini has no reason to ignore everything now that she's not with EJ,_ he thinks looking toward his own cup of punch dejectedly.

"Ricky? Ricky?!"

"What?" He snaps. Ricky didn't realize how frustrated he was with the whole situation until his comment registers and Gina literally takes a step back. He closes his eyes and lets out a quick breath, his brain already coming up with a thousand ways to apologize.

"Nothing...You just looked spaced out."

"I-I'm sorry, It's just-"

"Nini hasn't shown up yet and by the looks of it I don't think she is."

"And how exactly would you know that? I mean no offense but you don't know Nini." _At least not like I do,_ His mind finishes for him. It's the bite in his tone that takes her back again only this time she squints a glare at him.

"I may know enough to check her instagram story and see that she's at home watching Toy Story with her mom's" _of course this is about Nini, this whole night was supposed to be about her._ The thoughts ring out in her head and make her want to take another step back, draw as much space between her and Ricky as possible.How could she forget? how could she let herself forget and let her walls down? Then Gina thinks about singing in the car with Ricky driving, memories of her dad resurfacing because of it and laughing while eating greasy diner food.

"Oh" It comes out of Ricky's mouth but it's exactly what she's thinking in that moment, at the realization. It brings her back to the moment, the awkward silence and bite in Ricky's tone from before reminds her of why her walls existed in the first place.

Ricky looks down to his shoes, he's ready to try to apologize for being an idiot. He doesn't pay attention to the fact that Nini is at home watching one of her comfort movies that she only usually watches when she feels lonely, instead he looks back up at Gina and the way her face changes, he thinks he can read a twinge of sadness on her expression before it becomes unreadable.

"You know tonight isn't shaping up to be what I thought it was gonna be like at all." Gina was thinking about telling Ricky that earlier in the night while they were dancing. Well she was dancing and he was doing whatever he was doing. It was supposed to reflect her light and happy feelings being there with him, but now when she says it its venomous and glib.

"Yeah and whose fault is that?" Ricky doesn't know why he responds the way he does, something about the way she says it. The way she's completely dismissing him before he even has the chance to say anything. It just makes him want to stutter out apologizes more but her tone stops him. now all he want's to do is spells out his frustrations at her, at the fact that his careless plan didn't work, that Nini wasn't even here, that Gina was all of a sudden mad at him and there was nothing he could seemingly do about it.

"Definitely not mine." Gina snaps back, the annoyance in her tone evident. Ricky scoff's in response, ** _did she forget why we're even here??_**

"Why are you even doing this?" Ricky asks the million dollar question. She'd somewhat answered it before in not so many words but nothing too direct. **_Is this just all a ploy or some type of game to her?_**

"What?" It's like he's cornered her into a wall, she feels it in real time when she feels the colorful streamers on her back. _Probably from taking so many steps back_ , she thinks and he's in front of her now. They're glaring at each other and once again Gina is frustrated because it's not like she can tell him the real reason why. She doesn't think " _your completely caught up on someone else but I think your my soulmate and I have to know for sure because my dead dad would want me to know and open myself to new possibilities here"_ would go over well with Ricky, it infect would probably make him run away. Even though she's mad at him now she's not sure she wants him to run from her. So she crosses her arms with her response, still guarded as ever.

"You know maybe you really are what people say you are" Ricky accusingly states and there's nothing really holding him back. Just the endless questions and possible scenarios in his mind tat wouldn't leave him alone. ** _Maybe she has some kind of stake in this? but what would that even be? Didn't she want the part of Gabriella?_**

"Oh yeah and what's that?" Gina says, her chin slightly raised. She's been everywhere, she's heard the whispers in the hall. She could all jagged edges like her mom too if she wanted to be. There's nothing she hasn't heard before.

"A little too ambitious for your own good or anyone else" He's looking at her at the start of when he says it but not by the end. He's looking away from her glare and drinking the last of his punch but Ricky finds the liquid is hard to swallow. His throat burns with hurt that he finds doesn't have the right to feel considering he was the one doing the hurting.

Gina constantly caught in a state of always wanting _more more more_ ever since she was little doesn't know what to say in rebuttal. This time for some reason it stings worse than anything else she's ever heard from anyone.

"Well glad I can count on your honesty Ricky." Gina just barely gets out before she feels a light weight in her eyes that she just needs to blink away. She didn't want Ricky to be the one running but that doesn't mean she thought it was gonna be her that was leaving.

She leaves, he hears the clink of her heels against the wooden gymnasium floors and he's grasping for air trying to get her arm in his reach, but it's too late. Ricky feels a bit empty after that.

* * *

Ricky Bowen is an idiot. He's reminded of this fact when his feelings of guilt double at the exact moment that Carlos, who'd been looking for her most of the night, unknowingly reminds him of the fact that it's her first dance. _Fuck that's right, this is her first dance, this was supposed to be perfect for her too._ Ricky's mind overwhelms with his thoughts from the car ride earlier, how he didn't just want things end up well with Nini in the end but for gina too, **_because it's what she deserves,_** at that thought Ricky sighs at how monumentally he fucked up.

"So do you know where your date disappeared to?" Carlos asks with a pointed look.

Ricky scratches the back of his neck and looks around the room, "Uh no actually."

Carlos looks at Ricky and slightly squints his eyes, "Okay well you should fix that I'm gonna text her."

Ricky decides then and there that he's gonna make everything right again. **_Fuck plans_** , nothing ever really worked out for him anyway but that doesn't mean the same thing has to happen to Gina. he scourges the dance floor looking for a long red velvet dress and long wavy locks to turn up with nothing. Then he spots Red and Seb at the table and treads his way to them.

"Hey have you guys seen Gina?"

Red slightly tilts his head at the question, while Seb nose scrunches pondering the last thing the brunette beauty had told him. "I think she said something about needing some fresh air, Carlos has been trying to look for her. She seemed kinda upset."

"She looked like she was ready to leave" Red chimed in, his arms crossed on the table.

Ricky sighed, "Thanks guys." He rushes off again this time making his way to the double doors. The halls hummed the tune blaring from the gym, a fast paced beat mirroring his heart rate. He looks around the halls, **_Please don't be gone please don't be gone please don't-_**

She interrupts his thoughts for the millionth time tonight when he opens the main entrances and his eyes automatically find her figure, in her long velvet dress sitting on the bench in the moonlight. Ricky approaches her, and her eyes roll at his seemingly worrisome appearance.

He looks down toward the ground and shoves his hands in his pockets before he starts, "I'm glad you didn't call an uber." Gina scoffs. Ricky wants to punch himself in the face, **_why is it so hard to say what I wanna say?_**

"I found I rather take a bus than spend another minute in that dance with you or worse in your car."

"Well that's fair." **_a little unfair to buggsy (Red's car) but overall fair_** , his mind corrects, eyes now moving from his shoes to hers.

Gina sighs this time breathing out her frustrations at the night, "Okay things have a habit of not working out for me anyway so I think we should just call it. I don't just mean tonight with the whole dance and everything but I mean this whole plan. Me being your "girlfriend"... I just don't know-"

"Look I'm sorry I lashed out at you the way I did. The only reason why I was frustrated was because Nini didn't show up and things weren't going my way but it was unfair to you especially with this being your first dance. In the car I sort of promised myself that I would give you the best first dance ever and I failed and for that I'm really sorry." Ricky says, finally meeting her eyes. She stands up so that they're face to face in front of the red bench now.

"You didn't have to make that promise, things were going pretty great until you came for me."

"Again I'm sorry about that I guess I just sort of lashed out because I got in my own head about why you really wanted to do this, not just come to the dance but do this fake girlfriend thing when you've been nothing but honest with me so far, when I thought we sort of got each other. you know outsiders?"

"...gotta stick together?" Gina finishes for him, while biting her lip. The guilt at the pit of her stomach rises when he brings up her motives in all this, he still doesn't know what she really wants out of all this, only the surface.

"Yeah I guess I didn't really think about it before but with me being an outsider to the theater and you being an outsider to east high maybe we sorta...need each other." Ricky breathes out, his hand finds its way to his shoulder, the light heat flaring with their gazes. It gives him the courage to finally say, "There's also the fact that there's no one else I'd rather do this with. So please Genevieve Porter come back inside with me?"

"It's Marie" Gina softly replies, breaking the eye contact. The warmth still sits, golden at the pit of her stomach as she moves around him.

"Huh" Her perfume lingers as she moves, Ricky has to move his head to try and meet her gaze again.

"My middle name it's Marie." Gina tells him with a small smirk planted on her lips, she's already making her way back to the double doors. "You coming Bowen?" She asks, head tilted toward the double doors. Ricky smiles a cheeky smile she wouldn't mind seeing more often.

* * *

When the pair find their way back to the gym, it's like they come back to a different planet. before it was packed, you could feel the heady sweat in the air, teenagers grinned, danced and jumped alongside each other to fast paced music. Now the music was slower, pairings all around were holding each other, and the air felt cooler.

Ricky snuck a glance at Gina wondering if it was too soon to ask her for a dance. Gina, noticing these looks, clears her throat and about to say something until Ricky blurted out a rushed "Do you maybe wanna dance?"

Maybe it's because she doesn't want to spend the rest of the dance in this post resolved fight energy with Ricky, or this was her first dance and she wanted to experience the cliche slow dance, sue her or that he could possibly be her soulmate and she for some reason wanted to hold him close. Whatever it was Gina couldn't help but meet his somewhat nervous gaze and out stretched hand and say "Yes."

'Big jet plane' plays, this version a slowed acoustic sound that pulls the pairing together. This time instead of just the one hand she feels wrapped around her its both his arms, so she hesitantly brings her own to loop around his neck.

"I forgive you." their eyes hadn't met until she said it, Ricky has to lean in closer because she says it so softly. Her cheeks heat up in response to their new found proximity, he eyes her curiously. "I didn't get the chance to tell you outside but uh yeah, Im sorry for snapping at you too."

Ricky's holding her close, it's like there's a lightness to the air now. She smells really nice, it's the faint scent of lilac and coconut that he recognized from earlier in the day. The calm and warmth building within him brings him back to the feeling he had in the car, the one ready have him spill his guts to a practical stranger. But Gina, Genevieve Marie Porter isn't a stranger to him anymore. They get each other.

While swaying Ricky admits, "I haven't talked to my mom in nearly two months." It's low and soft but Gina hears him all the same, he feels her stiffen than relax in his hold when he continues. "I've only been really speaking to her through my dad and I think he's noticed but he doesn't really know what to say to me." Gina plays with the curls at the back of his neck, and he closes his eyes and breathes out. "This wasn't part of their plan, then again I guess Bowens aren't really good at the whole plan thing huh."

A laugh tumbles from her lips and she moves her hand from his neck to try to contain it but given their proximity and the warmth expanding like an ocean in his stomach, it gives her away. "I'm so sorry I didn't mean to laugh."

_Your laugh, echoes down the hallway_   
_Carves into my hollow chest, spreads over the emptiness_   
_It's bliss_

"No you can laugh, I'm an idiot Red and Ash would agree." Her smile widens and her laugh rings out a sweet sound again. It's like he's 12 again and wants to chase that feeling, the feeling bubbling at his core whenever he looks at her, really looks at her. She's on the verge of apologizing again ( _that's been happening to many times tonight_ , she thinks), when he interrupts her "It's okay I don't mind" Ricky's looking at her, wide eyed grin and all and a look of understanding that overwhelms them both lingers.

Ricky's cheek faintly rests on top of hers while she tucks her head at the crook of his neck.

All from the cheaply plastic covered table, Red sits watching the pair from a far.

* * *

**The Porter Residence**   
**October 4th 2019**   
**11:15 pm**

"So this is my stop." Gina says as he parks the car in her driveway. He looks around and scopes the area from the fresh bed of azaleas to the brownstone roof. Ricky didn't really let himself look until now, caught up in meeting her mother, pictures, and that weird feeling he gets when they lock eyes. "I know it's probably not what you were picturing, if you were picturing anything. Let me guess you were probably thinking we'd go for gargoyles and barbed wire."

"Nah you're not that scary." _you might be the first to think that_ , she says in her mind fiddling with her hand. He gives her this crooked smile and for a second she forgets how this is supposed to go, that she's gonna wish him a good night and go inside without turning back.

"Thanks again for coming out with me tonight, well to the dance with me. And thanks for doing this whole thing for me to, if I haven't said it enough I do appreciate it."

"Don't sweat it. I've never really done dates or relationships but I know its hard." Gina down at her red shoes again, the million dollar question burning in her mind. "Soulmate marks are probably supposed to make it easier but for some reason I think they might do the opposite." she finishes, sneaking a glance at him.

Registering his sudden silence at the topic of soulmates the question sits on her tongue and weighs on her mind by the minute, he's looking at her porch light, "Do you have a soul mark?" Gina anxiously asks. His eyes snap from her porch back to her and his a little breathless not just because of the question but because she seems so much closer than she was before.

"I don't have one." The lie passes easily enough between his lips, sometimes he wishes he didn't but something stops him from saying that. Maybe it's because it not all entirely true, maybe it's because he hasn't really heard from his soulmate since they started this fake dating thing. What she said to her earlier in the evening comes back to him that moment, ** _"Glad I can count on your honesty Ricky"_** He can't really look her in the eye.

 _Of course he doesn't have a mark_ , even if he did it would probably spell out Nini's name because the Porter curse does not falter. "Sorry for asking, I didn't mean to-"

"Hey don't worry about it." he interrupts with an easy smile. She motions to open the car door and he hears the click of the car door when something else clicks in his mind. "I also uh wanted to thank you, If I haven't done that or apologized enough tonight," Ricky says with a nervous huffed laugh, her lips twist to an easy smile of her own as a response. "For talking to me that day in the skatepark, I didn't know how much I needed it then but you're the reason I stayed with the show. You set me straight and it's been a big deal for me."

"Well it suits you." it's the only thing she can say when the twinge of guilt she suddenly feels outweighs the warmth pooling in her stomach. He doesn't know the real reason why she went to that skate park or agreed to do any of this, he'd only scratched the surface when he'd offered her friends here. It makes her nervous when she thinks about how she could lose it all if he found out the truth, especially knowing he doesn't have a mark.

Ricky's gaze softens at her remark and makes a realization. It's one that makes him breathe through what he wants to say next. "I'm glad Miss Jenn thought to take a chance on me, everyone deserves a chance every once in a while," Gina can see where this is going, so she looks for a safer space than his eyes now. At the moment it's her red door. "Maybe your mom deserves a chance too? At least she's trying." He finishes, her eyes can never really stay far from him too long and that is entirely too dangerous to think about.

"Your right. I guess it's always a little easier when someones trying?" It's so obviously pointed at his situation with his mother, he huffs out a laugh and now he's the one whose looking away. Maybe it wasn't easier just being the one to point fingers all the time, and yeah it's his mom's responsibility to be the parent and she shouldn't need the reminder to be a mom but all of that doesn't make Ricky care about her any less. So maybe it wouldn't hurt to try.

"Did you just admit I was right about something?" Ricky's voice is both questioning and teasing, his eyes squinted in that playful smug way that people did when they knew they were right about something.

"Of course that's what you got out of that." Gina resists the urge to laugh, she want's his head to fit in his car and it's already big enough.

"Sorry can't hear you I'm too busy being right about something. Wow, is this what that feels like?" His thoughts are spilling out of his mouth and he feels that familiar feeling tug at the pit of his stomach that he wanted to chase when he was younger, all at the sight of Gina laughing.

"Don't get used to it Bowen." Gina pointedly says and it's punctuated by a smile she couldn't stop wearing on her face if she tried. His expression matches hers with a toothy grin she wants to kiss off his face. _Huh, that new_ the wavy haired brunette thinks to herself, with slightly widened eyes. So before she can really think about it further, she does.

"Goodnight Ricky" Gina softly says to him, she leans in close and plants a kiss on his cheek.

 ** _Fuck she's so close to my lips, am I shaking?_** Ricky can just as easily lean forward as she moves away from his cheek. Her eyes falling to his lips and making their way up to his eyes, his insides are melting, his cheeks burn and the air feels charged. His eyes immediately widen, sparkling in her porch light and are captivated by the small proud smirk she wears on her cheek as she leaves Red's car.

Gina walks down the pathway, toward the azaleas. When she gets to the red door she finally turns back to look at him. He's already looking at her, the live wire, the electricity returns. It isn't until Gina finally turns back and makes her way inside that he looks away and lets out an incredulous laugh, his breath isn't being held captive anymore.

Ricky shakes his head and asks himself a question he's been asking himself a lot lately, **_what the fuck was that?_**

_And California never felt like home_   
_And California never felt like home to me_   
_Until I had you on the open road_

* * *


	5. new cast.

Hey,

So in order to finish this story, I decided to re-cast. You'll notice some parts stayed the same while others changed. Some were easier to keep the same while others had to go because I felt wrong writing them as the story progressed.

As mentioned before I made a couple of major rewrite decisions (basically the whole Ash, Kourt, Red, Nini and Ricky being a friend group before high school that storyline was written in) so I encourage you, if your a fan of this story and where it's going with future chapters please re-read and let me know what you think. I appreciate you all sticking with this story if your still reading. The latest chapter is finished and will be uploaded soon <3.

Gina Porter - Sophia Wylie

Ricky Bowen - Marcel Ruiz

Big Red - Larry Saperstein

Nini Salazar Roberts - Madison Hu

Kourtney Robinson- Dara Reneé

Ashlyn Caswell - Julia Lester

EJ Caswell - Aubrey Joseph

Carlos Rodriguez - Chosen Jacobs

Seb Matthew Smith - Corey Fogelmanis


	6. v. Fineline

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gina understands her family a bit more and has got some new friends. Ricky keeps lying, Red keeps shaking his head. Ashlyn really does gay panic for real but she gets through it with help from the soulmate crisis center ✨.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a minute. I'm sorry this chapter took so long, but I hope I make up for it in length. I had added the new cast in hopes of being able to do this story justice with a cast that allows me to write creatively without feeling wrong or restrained. For those still following this story and wish to see more, Thank you so much. I really do appreciate it. Don't forget to give kudos, comment on what you like, or want to see more of and share.

**The Porter Residence**   
**October 17th 2019**   
**9:13pm**

There's no denying it at this point the voice that Gina is hearing in her head is definitely Ricky's.

The curly haired sophomore props her head up on her hand as she reads from the article, breathing out a sigh as her thoughts run rampant in her head. She hasn't had a thought from her soulmate since that day she talked to Ricky at the skate park. She shuts her eyes and considers slamming her laptop shut. _Ugh what if this is all in my head? what if I thought I heard Ricky's voice randomly responding to a thought in my head? What if its not really his voice and I want it to be? Why do I even want it to be his voice?_ Gina sort of short circuits at that last thought.

Tired of the seemingly endless stream of thoughts she's about to close her laptop when a line from the article she's reading stops her. " **Unrequited soulmates have also in some cases, reportedly, been generational in some families**." _The Porter curse,_ her mind echos at the sentence.

So it wasn't just something that happened exclusively with her family, unrequited soulmates were everywhere. It's only when she looks to the picture by her bedside of her mom and dad with her on her 5th birthday that she remembers what her mother told her. The Porters were special because whenever they came in contact with their soulmates it would lead to tragedies.

Her mind flashes back to that night, " **Soul mark's making any type of appearances in our family have always been bad omens. The Porters for generations have always had one sided soulmates. Either you're the only one who has the mark, or you fall in love with someone's soulmate but their not yours in return, or you do find your soulmate and they die when you meet. It's a cataclysm of potential disasters.** " It's no wonder her mother was afraid. _This could be dangerous_ , Gina's heart falls a bit more as the realization hits. Not just for her but whoever her soulmate is Ricky, if he is her soulmate, could be in danger.

The thought chills her. The boy that could make her feel so many things could get hurt, could _die_ , because of her. It made sense to her before when her mother had explained why she was essentially training her to be cold to the world. It wasn't just because less attachments were easier, especially since she moved around so much, but because it could literally save someone's life.

The knock on her door startles her so much that the laptop nearly falls off the bed in her efforts to shut it quickly. Mrs. Porter's head pops into view from the door, Gina stills. "Gina honey you got a second?"

"Yeah, mom." She shoves the closed laptop behind her and clutches her plush closer to her legs in crisscross position on her bed.

"I realized I haven't really stopped and talked to you about how your adjusting here." Her mom says as she settles across from her on the bed.

Gina fights the urge to look at her mom like an alien, it's something she's found she's had to do quite a bit since they've moved here. This sit down talk thing she was trying to do had always been something her dad had done. Talking about school gossip on rides home, movies in the backyard with the projector (that's been collecting dust in one of the many boxes they haven't unpacked in the garage), and ice cream runs to the supermarket where they would hide the cherry flavor because they were doing everyone a favor. Gina wants to smile at the memories but she's too confused now, Mrs. Porter senses this and hesitates over what to say next.

"I um, I know it can't be too bad with that Ricky boy taking you to the dance." Her breath hitches at the mention of his name and her mom tries to find her eyes that have suddenly found their way to the comforter. Her mother hesitates at the motion but her hand rises to rub her shoulder, her shoulder with the initials **RB** and at that Gina's head pops up. Mrs. Porter softly smiles in response. _Does she know?_ Gina's eyes slightly widen and she has to muster up all her acting skills she's perfected over the years to control her face, to keep calm.

 _There is no way she knows,_ Gina had been all too careful about hiding her mark from her mother, keeping true to her words about forgetting all the stories about soulmates and fairytales her dad would tell her. She wants to spare her mom the pain she saw in her eyes the day she told her about the Porter curse.

Her mom's thumb soothes over the fabric of her shirt where the initials were and her thoughts are all too much too fast. Her breathing starts to increase in pace and Mrs. Porter's face changes from fondness to concern. Then for some reason, Gina thinks about what Ricky told her in the car about how her mom was trying, the least she could do was give her a chance. So she lets out one last breath and gathers the courage to do what she wants to do next, to say what she wants to say.

Gina breaks away from her mother's touch when she abruptly gets up from the bed and the question blaring in her mind tumbles out of her mouth. "Why are you acting so different here?"

_Put a price on emotion_   
_I'm looking for something to buy_   
_You've got my devotion_   
_But man,_   
_I can hate you sometimes_

_What do you want from me?_ The question sits on the tip of her tongue. Gina's face riddled in confusion while her mother looks up from where she was in slight shock. All her life her mom teaches her to want _moremoremore_ and then suddenly we get here and she wants to know all about her friends and how she's _adjusting._ She wants to be like her dad and no one could be like her dad. Her eyes water at the impossible thought of anyone trying to fill those shoes.

Their gazes hold for a few seconds and the pain Gina saw that day returns, she can tell even through the tears that won't fall. Her mother releases a breath, "Gina, your father dying changed so much for us." Its not something that has to be said, they both know it but when she does it's like she can finally relax.

The tension Gina didn't even realize was there eases off her shoulders. _It's one thing that's not all in my head at least._

"I've decided this is where we're going to stay. We're not renting this space, That's the reason the sign on the lawn said it was bought because a few months ago I put down a payment for a mortgage on this place."

Gina's jaw drops. It's the last thing she thought her mom was going to say. _Stay? here?_ she thinks as she plops back on her bed. Grace eyes carefully follow her daughter's movement on the bed and takes in her shocked expression. So she grabs her little girls hand and this time she doesn't hesitate. "I know this is a lot to process because this isn't something we usually do."

Gina finally looks at her. _It's not something we ever do!_ Her mind practically screams. Change is something Gina's lived with all her life, it's what she's used to, it's what she knows.This type of adaptability is something she's always wanted to know but now that she's getting it, it's like its all wrong. Her eyes move from her mothers figure to the photo by her bedside with her father smiling at the camera, a light in his eyes crouching by her and her mother. Grace's eyes follow hers to the photo and squeezes Gina's hand, the tears finally fall. "You probably pictured he'd be here if we'd ever stayed anywhere. That it would be his call and not mine."

_I don't want to fight you_   
_And I don't wanna sleep in the dirt_   
_We'll get the drinks in_   
_So I'll get to thinking of her_

"No it would've been up to you" They all knew it was her job that kept them moving, it was definitely gonna be Grace Porter that made the call if they were staying anywhere. It was something Gina would have to remember when she asked her dad why they couldn't stay anywhere for too long when she was younger and his response was always the same. "But it would've been his idea." Her mother's voice cracks as she says it and Gina initiates a hand squeeze this time.

"Mom what about your job? What are you-" Her mother straightens a bit at the question and waves a hand at the interruption. "I've asked for a permanent position here and I think I like it. It's taking less out of me. I'm still helping people but I don't know...I feel lighter now that I'm not seeing things first hand." Gina shakes her head in awe. Her mother had looked lighter, she had more time on her hands than she used to. _I can't believe I didn't notice._ "I can't believe you didn't tell me."

"I can't believe you didn't notice. You pick things up without people telling you a thing sometimes, prowling like a cat around the corner just waiting to overhear something." Her mother's head shakes this time while Gina laughs.

Grace resists the urge to tell her she's the same way, that it's one thing she got from her for sure out of the many Gina got from her father. A comfortable silence blankets over them as her mother thinks of her late partner. "I was waiting for the right time...and I know you and I aren't that close at least not like you and your father used to be."

Gina's curious eyes meet hers and the pain in them lingers for a bit before she breathes out again and continues, "I hope you know I would never try to replace what he was to you but your my baby too. You always have been."

"You know you're doing pretty good just as a mom." Grace let's out a breathy laugh and the tears fall from her eyes too.

"Remember when I told you, you were the best parts of him? Trust me you got enough of him for the both of us." She hadn't realized she had been holding her breath until then and when Gina does she lets it go. The relief in knowing that her mom wasn't playing some type of game or trying to replace what her father was settles on her and a gentle smile plays on her lips. Her mom looks lighter and softer than she's ever seen her, jagged edges and all.

"I think I understand why your father taught you all those things about letting down your defenses. Sometimes that's the only way to let people in. And it's okay to let people in baby." Gina nods while the tears stream down her face. Her mother is doing what she's always done, she's giving her opportunities. Only this time it's allowing herself to open up and let her guard down to other people like her father has always wanted for her. Now that she's staying somewhere she can. Excitement, sadness and some fear all weld up in her stomach as she thinks of school tomorrow and what this all means.

Gina focuses on the fear for a moment when she looks at her laptop and remembers the one person besides her who could stand to lose the most from this soulmate stuff, _if it is who I think it is._

"Mom does the Porter curse always affect **_everyone_** in our family? from every generation?" Gina's clutching both her mother's hands and her cheeks are tear streaked when she asks. Her mother looks at her with what seems to be a suspicious glance and it leaves her face as quick as Gina notes it. " Everytime someone in the family had gotten marks something terrible had happened. Often it wasn't to our own family members but the 'soulmates' themselves. I was glad I never got mine.." Grace lets go of Gina's hands this time while she looks away and fixes her gaze back to the laptop. Her mother tries to search her eyes like she looking for something in them. "Why do you ask?" she sniffles.

"Just curious," Gina says with a half smile that a bit empty as she feels and she can't look at her mom in the eye. Grace nods and gets up from the bed, she lightly touches Gina's chin affectionately before walking back to the door. Just as she's about to open the door to leave she slowly turns to say one more thing, "You know you can tell me anything right, okay sweetie?" Her mothers eyes spilling sincerity and care, she can't help but soften.

It's easy for Gina to give her a reassuring smile and a nod now, "I know Goodnight mom."

"Goodnight baby."

The pet names are something she can only really remember her mother said to her when she was really young but ever since her father died they made a resurgence and Gina's always been a bit grateful for that. She doesn't hear Gigi or Princess anymore but that was because it was her father's thing. She's glad to have something with her mother. It was like Ricky said, Her mom was trying and that's what matters. She thinks of him while she opens her laptop again and sighs.

_fuck._

* * *

* * *

**East High School**   
**October 18th 2019**   
**12:21pm**

"Hey, you ready for lunch?" It's a simple question. Said in a somewhat eager nonchalant way that normally wouldn't cause Gina to yelp in surprise but considering the fact that Ricky had just silently positioned himself behind her locker door, it takes her by surprise. She slams her locker shut in response to his voice and while he laughs at her reaction, she visibly deflates. There's a glare directed at him, he thinks it holds no malice (he's right). Gina slaps his arm and the sound of his laughter grows, there's a twinkle in his eyes that she saw in his car the night of the dance just a few weeks ago and she secretly hopes it doesn't leave. She also hopes she hasn't been staring at him for too long.

 _I mean he is your fake boyfriend it's not like anyone would judge you. Well not 'official' fake boyfriend or anything,_ Gina's mind corrects as they walk down the hallway together. They're pretty good at playing the part of fast friends on the brink of something more, she thinks it's because sometimes it's not really pretend at least for her. It hasn't really been pretend these past two weeks since the dance where their hands would brush up against the others when they sat next to each other in rehearsals, or when she would hangout with him at the skate park after school sometimes. It definitely wasn't pretend when she blushed at Carlos badgering her for details on homecoming night and their apparent "flirting" these past couple of weeks.

"Gina?" Ricky's looking at her, soft brown eyes slightly squinted in question as they walk.

"Yeah. Sorry, What did you say?"

"I was just saying how it's basically me acting on my part of the deal."

 _His part of the deal?_ "What do you mean?"

"You know, friends at East High? getting you in with the in-crowd." He says that last part a bit jokingly. Even Gina who was new to Salt Lake knew of Ricky's status as stoner skaterboy, not exactly of the popular jock build like EJ. Which definitely added to her intrigue of him when he auditioned for Troy, he was an outsider to the theater (just like her to East High). The self-proclaimed stoner skater boy who's also now a theater kid that's now introducing her to potential friends. It's then that it hits her. _Oh right I'm lying_.

Ricky didn't know the real reason she was doing all of this, the part of her that wouldn't shut up about knowing whether he was her real soulmate or not. Even if he didn't have a mark and she was subsequently fated to be his unrequited soulmate, she still had to be sure. It was just the surface reason he knew of wanting more friends. _More friends than I guess I'll need since I'm staying,_ the thought still baffles her even after the conversation with her mother yesterday. Even after being greeted with a bright grin from her mother this morning that basically assured her that all of it was real and not just some dream.

"Right" Gina answers with a reassuring smile. She's an actress before she's anything else. "Oh but me and Carlos were gonna go out for lunch today."

"Him and Seb are sitting with us and so is Red," Ricky adds Red's name almost as if it was as a courtesy, like it was basically implied he would be there. But there's one redhead she notices missing from the table he described, Gina's about to address it but then when she motions to open the door, it's like his hand magnetically found it's way to her back guiding her through the cafeteria and to the red rounded table.

He flashes her this cheeky grin that's almost as impossible as he is and dashes to get to the lunch line. Carlos and Seb are already there settled with their trays, feeding each other fries, and greet Gina.

"Hey hun."

The conversation passes easily between the three of them. Carlos is next to her, bright in his facial expressions and hand gestures describing the funniest thing that happened in second-period chemistry with Seb chiming in every once in a while (only at the parts he **definitely** exaggerated). Gina teases them both, giggling contentedly, it feels like home.

And that's what Ricky sees from across the room. The blurring thing that happens sometimes when she's around and it's just her, starts again. _Just Gina,_ her name replaying in his mind. He's still on the line and he's pretty sure the freshman behind him just tapped his shoulder and huffed in annoyance so that he can actually move it along. But he's stuck on her smile and the laugh he swears he can hear in real-time as if Ricky himself were in Carlos position, right next to her.

_We'll be a fine line_   
_We'll be a fine line_   
_We'll be a fine line_

"Dude" The freshman snaps him out of it and Ricky stutters a quick apology before moving up and he has to shake his head. It's happened too many times since the dance. Ricky finds sometimes as hard as it is to describe or put into words, he gets caught up in her. Like when he's counting the minutes until class is over and he's all of a sudden walking the wrong way to his next class only to find that he was actually walking to where Gina was. To walk her to _her_ next class and she hides a shy smile of gratitude that he knows he doesn't imagine because he mirrors one of his own. He gets caught up when he misses his cue in rehearsal because Gina just did the most incredible dance break of the history of all time and he knows for a fact he can't be the only one who has the urge to clap anytime she does it.

Ricky's so in his thoughts he doesn't even realize he's already at the front of the line with the trays so he grabs the red tray of dozens in front of him, picks what looks the most edible and heads back to the table trying not to get caught up in it again. So in efforts of avoiding his view of his pretend (almost) girlfriend his sights find something else.

Another rounded table to his left where he finds his other red-headed best friend sitting next to her soulmate. Ricky shakes his head in amazement, ** _who knew? Ash and Kourtney_**. It had been them all along. It had been them whispering to each other at middle school dances, laughing at Red's bad jokes in Nini's treehouse, and huddled together for warmth when it got too cold and all they could do was wait for Ashlyn's dad to pick her up from school. As Ricky settles his tray on the table his eyes still settled on the pair, he realizes it makes sense. Ashlyn's eyes are lit up in a way he didn't realize was familiar to him because Kourtney is laughing that big bright laugh she does and their hands are inches apart on the table (like his and Gina's hands in rehearsal lately). Ricky can't help but smile at the sight. Even if Kourtney hadn't been his biggest fan at the moment because of everything that happened with Nini, even though he had played a part in the break up of their friend group too. He still couldn't help but be happy, for the both of them. Not because they're soulmates or any of that because Ashlyn's found someone.

Ricky's eyes move from them to the brunette next to Kourtney only to find that her gaze was already fixated on him. Nini's brown eyes don't leave his for a moment and when they do it's to the water polo jock situated next to her. Ricky has to resist the urge to roll his eyes at his obvious attempts to try to get back to her good graces whether it was complimenting her at rehearsals, waiting for her after class, or sitting at a lunch table even Ricky could tell he wasn't always wanted at. Okay so maybe he'd noticed they'd been a little warmer to EJ lately but it didn't matter anyway because Ricky was gonna get her back.

He leans a little forward in his seat to try and capture Nini's eyes again, all these little moments have to mean something. When he and Nini are singing in rehearsal together it's like it always had been. When he has to hold her hand in rehearsal because Troy and Gabriella are running through the halls it's like they were playing tag in Nini's backyard again. Ricky saw the girl too shy to sing when all she's ever done is sing with everything in her and it reminds him of home. It reminds him of glaring at raisin packets in the supermarket with his mother because they wouldn't be caught dead making oatmeal raisin on any day (only when Nini's grandma came over because she loved them).

There's this warmth that hurdles him back from the shadows of the past that starts on his hand, spreading out. That's when he feels the weight of her hand on his and hears her voice bringing him back. "Ricky?" Gina questions, her eyebrows furrowed in concern with her hand lightly placed on his. He quickly looks from her hand back up to her face. Gina's eyes are still bright and he doesn't know why it feels so right. The sense of relief and wholeness he's only ever felt in Nini's room the night they broke up comes back with his hand locked with Gina's.

Ricky can't help but steal a glance at the brunette on the other end of the cafeteria again and remembers that night in her room when he'd gotten his mark, that feeling of completeness. Gina follows his gaze and suddenly wants to take her hand back. The warmth she feels is impossible to wash away but this cool feeling pools at the stomach that nags right alongside it, feels like jealously. It makes her want to pull away. Except Ricky looks back at her face and his lips part a bit like he's on the edge of making some sort of realization. Gina feels this heat rise to her neck and her eyes slightly widened, _could he really be it?_ the curly-haired sophomore thinks.

_Test of my patience_   
_There's things that we'll never know_   
_You sunshine, you temptress_   
_My hand's at risk, I fold_

Ricky shakes his head trying to forget the memory and the feeling persisting. **_She's probably only doing this so we could look like a couple_** , the thought grounds him. "Oh, I'm sorry what did you say?"

Red chews on his celery stick, noting their still intertwined hands. He and Carlos share a look, "You zoned out for a bit, Bolton."

"It's Bowen." Ricky corrects, taking a bite from his sandwich and the moment passes. Gina's hand leaves him and he tells himself he doesn't feel any different.

"Didn't I say that?" Carlos questions.

"No you didn't babe, you said Bolton," Seb replies, poking his boyfriend's arm.

"They're practically one and the same at this point." Red sardonically says, Gina sniffles a giggle while Carlos and Seb laugh to themselves.

"You take that back." Ricky points with a glare directed at his best friend.

"Or what you'll Jazz square me to death?" Red asks with his hands up in mock scared gesture, Seb looks to Carlos suppressing a grin.

"Please Jazz hands are hard enough for him as is." Gina giggles, while it's certainly up there on the prettiest sounds Ricky has ever heard and he wouldn't mind hearing it again he's all too caught up in the betrayal, his mouth open in mock disbelief. They were supposed to be a fake couple for fucks sake, _isn't she on my side?!?_ Ricky gives her a disbelieving look and Gina knows he's definitely joking when he can't help but let out a laugh.

Ricky should've known she would fit in perfectly with them. She's already got her arm tucked into Carlos while she talks about the importance of vitamin E in her skincare routine, Seb listening attentively. She and Red are bouncing off each other, coming for Ricky any chance they can (its cool with him...well it's growing on him, especially when Gina laughs). He doesn't realize he'd. been softly smiling at her all this time until the buzz from his pocket directs his attention away from the table again.

Seb is explaining to Red how this one time one of the cows looked like she was actually mimicking his moves for the show while he practiced in the barn, "No I swear I wasn't high Red!", Gina's laughing at the interjections of questions from both Carlos and Red but something feels off. Ricky is dozing off again this time to a place it looked like no one could reach him. So she tries to grab his hand again, to bring him back.

Ricky wants the moments with his parents together again, physically aches for it. He tries to get himself to refocus on the girl that reminded him of all of those moments. Nini meets his eyes again, she looks at him almost wistfully. **_This one_** , he tells himself, **_needs to mean something_**.

Nini feels something, the weight of more than one thing in his gaze and it makes her cower a little, she looks away. It's heavy and needy, it was nothing like the easy-going skater boy she fell for. It angers her and saddens her all the same.

Gina eyes are cautious to follow Ricky's gaze again and _of course, he's looking at Nini._ Gina brings her hand back to tuck into Carlos's arm and tries to listen to Seb tell his story in detail. Her mind drifts though, the girl whose always wanted _moremoremore_ was reminded of how the whole porter curse works, of the conversation with her mom the day before. Gina thinks it might do her well to remember the fact that Ricky doesn't have a soulmark and she tries to tell herself it doesn't bother her either. _This soulmate thing isn't for me, keep your head on straight Porter._

* * *

* * *

**East High School**   
**October 18th 2019**   
**1:53pm**

It's not really a weekly thing. At least that's what Ricky and Red tell Ash whenever she scolds them for skipping 6th period for the hundredth time to smoke. This time more than most it's necessary because Ricky has just given Red the full story on how this whole fake dating thing with Gina came to be.

"Wait-wait so Gina's never been to a dance before?" Red says surprised, while Ricky smokes the last of the blunt.

"That's what you got from all that?" Ricky squints at his best friend's question and lets the smoke lighten him, allows the weightless feeling to come when it can while he leans on the metal bar behind him. Behind the bleachers during 6th period was always a quiet spot, no one ever really seemed to come to despite what the high school cliches would indicate. The pair would only come every once and a while. Sometimes coming to the bleachers or on the rooftop garden that, yes actually existed before the high school musical franchise.

"You know you were a real dick to take out your frustration about Nini not being there on her, that wasn't her fault and it was her first dance too," Red says shaking his head at his best friend, everything feels slower though so once he starts he gets a bit caught up in the motion and can't really stop so Ricky fondly rolls his eyes and pokes Red's cheek to get him to stop.

"That's why I apologized, you know I tried to make it up to her with the whole slow dance thing. it was...it was actually kinda nice." Ricky replies looking down at the hardwood floor as he thinks of the way she laughed and the coconut and lilac scent that lingered when he held her close on the dance floor. He'd been having a nice time with Gina before it occurred to him he was there for Nini too. They had started the night actually laughing together at a diner, after all, it had actually been shaping up to be a good night and of course, somehow he put his foot in his mouth and almost ruined everything.

"You know she doesn't really seem that scary either, like lunch today was pretty cool," Red admits.

"Well what were you expecting?" Ricky eyes his best friend fidget with his hands and fights the rising urge to defend Gina. He hasn't really known her long and yet he still feels protective over her and that hasn't really hit him until now.

"She was kinda terrifying when she first got here," Red admits, thinking back to that day of rehearsal where she curiously asked about where Ricky was going. Back when Ricky's plan seemed like it was going to hell. "I mean I guess I shouldn't be surprised she's your girlfriend considering you said you weren't even intimidated when she first got here. She was super intimidating."

"Fake girlfriend."

"Right fake girlfriend." Red makes a face and lets out a breath as he situates next to Ricky, crisscrossed.

"What?" Ricky asks, he's had every face Red's made cataloged a long time ago, of course, he doesn't always notice every single one but this one spelled out skepticism. Like he knew something Ricky didn't.

"I just- It didn't really seem all that fake back at lunch when she grabbed your hand or teased you about your dancing."

"She probably only did that stuff to make us seem like a couple."

"But you guys haven't even said anything about being a couple." Ricky fixes him another look, "Fake couple, sorry." Red exasperatedly apologizes.

Apart of Ricky didn't want to make it official with Gina, **_fake official_** his mind corrects, because Gina didn't deserve to be part of some plot but also because he wasn't even sure it would work. Nini could barely look at him at lunch when he and Gina weren't even really together, he had no idea if this plan was going to work or backfire completely. Never mind the fact that someone like Gina, someone bursting with talent and life, who probably belongs in a big city like New York or something would never actually be believable as his girlfriend. Guilt slowly creeps up on him at the thought of the lie he told her the night of the dance, not even in a fake relationship did Ricky deserve her, the junior sighs.

"I didn't exactly tell her the truth about something when I dropped her off after homecoming." His guilt blurts it out for him, Red looks to him curiously.

"What did you tell her?"

"I lied about having a soul mark, I told her I didn't have one." Ricky lets it out in one big breath and braces himself for Red's reaction. He's almost tempted to close his eyes and peek with one slightly open but he doesn't.

Red's jaw drops and a silence passes over the two boys before Red breaks it will a resounding smack against Ricky's arm. "Ow! the fuck man..." Ricky whines, rubbing his arm in disbelief.

"Why would you lie to her about not having a mark?" Red incredulously asks eyes squinted.

"I don't know maybe its because my life would be a hell of a lot easier without one. Everything started going to shit when it came anyway, the whole thing is bullshit." Ricky complains because it's true. It's been the truth since Nini broke up with him because of it and his parents just up and decided to call it quits right after when his mom finds **her** **soulmate** in Chicago.

"You wanna tell Carlos and Seb that or Ashlyn that?" Red reasons.

"That's different."

"How?"

"It just is. Those people want to be together okay because that's what it takes to be in a relationship. People wanting to be together. At least Seb and Carlos want to be together, the verdict is still out on Kourt and Ash. Has she told her by the way?" Ricky only really got to see them at lunch, they've been talking a lot more since the dance. Rekindling the friendship from what she's said and what he's seen but it doesn't really look like more.

"No, Ash hasn't told Kourt she thinks they're soulmates. You're not getting outta this by the way, has your soulmate talked to you at all lately?" Red presses on, his arms how crossed as Ricky lets out a breath and moves to lay on the ground.

"Not since the day I was gonna quit the play." As he says it his voice lowers when he makes the connection. The familiarity of Gina's voice that he couldn't quite place and the last thing his soulmate told him passes through his mind.

"Dude what's with the thinking face?" Red's noticed he's had the pandering look on his face more often, Ricky thinking can never be a good thing. He'd also been dozing off a lot and not in the way he did in the middle of class but staring off into space, getting so far into his head.

"It's nothing." Ricky's sure its nothing. That voice might've sounded a little bit like Gina's or maybe it didn't _it happened almost a month ago how the hell am I supposed to remember,_ his thoughts run as he runs a hand through his curls and settles it on the back of his head.

"You know you're not being fair to your soulmate." Red claims.

"Well guess I can thank the good ole universe the girl's voice in my head remains a complete stranger." Ricky cynically responds.

"You don't know that." Red nearly sings. "come on Carlos and Seb now Ash and Kourt. I mean who knows, the one could be closer than you think."

"Right because my soulmate, in a planet of seven billion people, is in Salt Lake City of all places," Ricky says, the doubt and sarcasm in his voice evident.

"Somewhere out there your soulmate is saying the exact same thing about you. Now you both look like idiots." Red breathes out this time, laying against the metal bar, waiting for the universe to do its thing.

* * *

* * *

**East High School**   
**October 25th 2019**   
**5:34pm**

"Hey miss you haven't happened to see this freakishly tall totally gorgeous weirdly flexible dancer around have you?"

"You know normally I would've had a witty response to give back to you but I'm totally never going to let you live down calling me gorgeous from the driver's seat of this very small very orange car." Ricky's smile slowly stretches on his face at her response and his eyes shine as they did on homecoming, with the sun only now beaming down on him half as bright. Gina approaches the car in the parking lot and leans down toward the passenger seat window.

"What do you need Bowen?" They had both just got out of rehearsals and it was safe to say Ms. Jenn was relentless for the day. Gina ran through her dance breaks what felt like a million times and sung like there was no tomorrow. She'd also been pulled aside by Ricky to help him run lines, Ms. Jenn thought having the understudy and lead practicing could only be productive but the constant laughing and talking (they weren't lines) only proved otherwise. To put it simply Gina was spent.

"A milkshake actually," Ricky states plainly, one hand on the steering wheel the other on the passenger seat. Red had decided to car pool with Ash and Kourt when Ricky asked for time with Buggsy, only resisting the urge to wiggle his eyebrows when Ricky said he wanted to take Gina to Cosmos. Teasing him, whispering good luck on his 'fake date', Ricky pointedly shoves his best friend before he runs off and the search for curly-haired sophomore began.

"Cool. You should go get one of those." Gina nods to him, tapping the door as she walks off. Ricky leans closer to her side at her response and the cursed cheeky smile returns. "I was actually thinking you could come with." he loudly replies, stopping her at her tracks. When she turns back there's this look on his face borders between hopeful and a little mischievous, _he looks like a puppy_. Gina sighs when she opens the car door and he lets out a triumphant laugh, _this is dangerous,_ her mind practically sung out to her as she stares at his profile still smiling, putting the car in drive.

"You're paying," Gina grumbles.

**Cosmos Diner**   
**October 25th 2019**   
**6:07pm**

It shouldn't concern her that they play the role of friends teetering on the line of something more pretty well, it concerns her that as the days pass she finds that they're playing it too well, just like she had a couple of days ago. After all, they were only supposed to be pretending. But the flirting at rehearsals, after school, and at lunch with their friends made her think twice sometimes. So it was at Cosmos Diner while looking at the large menu as Ricky tapped his fingers on the table she decided they needed rules.

"I forgot about the rules" Gina blurts suddenly, it disturbs the otherwise comfortable silence that was filled with Ricky's tapping noises and he drops his fork his other hand had been fiddling with. _Smooth Porter_. She's about to apologize for her ungraceful outburst when he asks, "What rules?"

"You know the ones we were supposed to come up with at the start of this thing, to keep us kinda..within boundaries I guess. I figure nows a good a time as any because we still aren't official. Well, fake official." Gina rambles on while Ricky nods as he looks to the fake stars on the sidewall.

"I don't think we need rules. We do pretty well on our own, I mean you're a really good actress." Gina's heard it from many different people time and time again but for some reason now when Ricky says it, heat is rising to her ears and her eyes need to not be on him at the moment. "Seriously you could be on Broadway or something."

"I still don't know you that well. For all I know this could be some elaborate ploy to get me into a cult, or I could be fooling you into one, you don't know. We need rules for boundaries because they're important." Gina can't help but think about how he doesn't have a soulmark and how she could see the unrequited soulmate mark ending in complete disaster for her if she doesn't protect herself. _I need rules and I gotta stick to them_ because she's at a certain point where she thinks she would do just about anything for Ricky's smile and that is very very dangerous. "Besides It's gotta be official Bowen." Gina says with a charming tone of finality, already taking out her binder with her favorite paper and her fountain pen.

Ricky shrugs, _if that's what she needs._ He figures boundaries are pretty important. She is right they don't really know each other but it sure doesn't seem that way. They already have so much in common but Ricky only feels like he's barely scratched the surface with her, like there's so much more to her. So yeah maybe getting her here was his way of doing that but he wanted to get to know mysterious new girl Gina Porter outside of being what everyone else saw. Not intimidating new girl or fake girlfriend persona made to make friends and make Nini jealous but her. Gina is writing out the title of the contract when he remembers how she came up with the idea for it and nearly snorts laughing.

"Not you laughing to yourself, you've lost it. Who's gonna give me a ride home?"

"I'm laughing at the fact that you got this whole contract idea from a rom-com. Genius really." Ricky's tone drips with sarcasm, his eyes wide. Gina stops her writing to fix him a wry smile and flips him off before she gets back to it, at that Ricky actually lets out a giggle, the sound makes her head snap back up and she doesn't want to forget it for the rest of the night (or maybe ever). "Seriously Porter what is the hype with this To All The Boys movie?"

"It's not just the movie that's good, there's more than one by the way because it was actually a popular book series first."

"Guess that makes sense."

"Yeah and the storylines and characters are pretty realistic and relatable you know? For some reason, my mom's been obsessed with Peter, the love interest."

"How are things going with her?" Ricky asks.

Gina grins at the question, "Better actually, we've started a little book club. The first series was surprise, surprise...the to all the boys series. That's where her Peter obsession was founded, I guess." Ricky chuckles at that and the waitress finally brings over their shakes, Oreo cookies and cream for her and Chocolate for him, they thank her before she goes. "We've just been doing more stuff together like baking and watching movies. I don't know it's been..nice not being alone in my house all the time, with all the silence I'm used to with my dad being gone," Ricky's looking at her through his lashes, pushing the drink in front of him after he takes his first sip.

"The house is starting to feel like home." _mom is starting to feel like home,_ it's not something that Gina says out loud its not even something that Ricky hears in his head but he understands the words left unspoken just the same.

"I don't know why I didn't tell you this before but the reason I hadn't been to a dance or had many cliche high school firsts is that my mom works for FEMA so whenever emergency strikes she usually goes along with it, so I've been moving around all my life basically. Transferred to over 5 schools in the last seven years. Never really attached to anyone or anything because of it. It's always been hard enough making friends, saying goodbye to them was always a thousand times worse" By the time she's done she shifts her gaze from her napkin back up to his face, Ricky with his lips parted in awe, blinking and nodding her story into his mind.

"Things are so different here, she's different here. She wasn't always the easiest person to make conversation with but now it's like I would want to talk to anybody else," Gina pauses, playing with her napkin before she continues "I guess it's because this is the first time we're actually staying somewhere."

"You are?" Ricky's got that puppy look back on his face again only this time instead of just hopefully its like its on the online between happiness and aspiration. Like what she said would hold weight, determine his expression.

"Yeah I'am." She nods and fights the stupidly soft smile on her face, fights the heat, the embarrassment reaching her cheeks. "Wow that got personal...at least you know I'm not here to drag you into a cult." Gina jokes, her voice reaching a higher octave by the last word. He has to fight the urge to reach for her hand across the table. "Thank you for telling me. You're probably one of the strongest people I know and honestly, I'm not surprised that you are Porter."

It's more often than not that they're caught in this ring of vulnerability, an air around them that makes them want to spill their guts in the best way possible. It doesn't really happen much, like when they go to the skatepark or hang out after school they talk about stupid stuff like reboots and never should've happened or they spend time laughing, trying to recreate Tik Toks. Ricky seems to be struck with the vulnerability and runs with it, "I think I'm pushing this so much because I've lost a lot more than Nini in our breakup." He admits with a shaky breath.

"I lost Kourtney and our friend group that basically fell apart. I mean ever since 7th grade it's been me, Nini, Kourt, Ash and Red, all of us together hanging out at Nini's treehouse her mom's built her when she was 5 watching weird movies, vines and riding our bikes till sundown. I miss that." Ricky rambles on speaking with his hands now and Gina can't look away.

"Then there's the fact that a little while later my mom found her soulmate in Chicago and that just..." There's a weight on his chest with the rest of the words that don't wanna come out.

"Made you wanna give up on the whole soulmate thing in general?" The weights lifted, he looks up at her through his lashes again. Ricky hadn't realized he was looking down at the hardwood surface beneath his hands as he was speaking but when he looks back up at her and the weights gone as she says the words, he finds he doesn't wanna look away.

"Yeah been there." The curly haired girl admits sympathetically. It takes her back to that place, when she didn't want to get out of bed and face another day without her dad who lied to her about soulmates in the first place. She wants to tell him to be grateful his friends are still here and that he can still get it all back when he gets Nini back after all that's what this whole plan was about. But she doesn't. She see's it in his empathetic gaze that he understands what she's saying all the same. She's never had this connection with anyone. _I guess this is real friendship,_ there's a little part of her that nags friendship isn't supposed to make you feel like a shaken up soda bottle ready to burst and a calm river on a summer day at the same time.

_Crisp trepidation_   
_I'll try to shake this soon_   
_Spreading you open_   
_Is the only way of knowing you_

Gina gets this feeling that there's more he's not saying, more beneath the surface than what he thinks he's lost.

Theres a comfortable silence and calmness in the air. Their eyes lock for a few beats until Ricky looks away from her eyes and she feels the change in him almost as if she felt it inside her herself. Gina squints in response to the feeling and takes a sip of her shake to gather the courage to ask what she wants to ask.

"How things are going with your mom?" Ricky lets out a breath at the question and moves the straw in his drink in a circular motion. "I mean I've talked to her here and there it's just..a little hard getting on the same page with her because ever since she left it's like we've-I've been..disconnected to her." It comes out brokenly and strung together but Gina understands, she eyes the constellations on the far end of the restaurant behind his head.

"I don't know at least now she's trying and it's not just me. Someone wise once told me that it's a little easier when someones trying." Ricky pointedly says it and she hesitates for his hand across the table while she searches his eyes. A soft smile finds it's way to his face because he's learning that when his tongue feels heavy with lead, with the words he wants to say but can't Gina always knows the right thing to say, sometimes without even saying it.

"I meant what I said at the dance." He says earnestly.

"What? that you can't dance? Ricky I think the entire drama department knows, Carlos practically reminds you every day." Gina smirks into her milkshake.

"One of these days you will all realize the corkscrew is the moment," Ricky says shaking his head while he moves further into the table like he was gonna spill all his secrets.

"It's sad that you think that." Gina's furrowed brows feign concern, but a smile she's clearly resisting grows on her lips nonetheless and her teasing tone gives her away.

Ricky huffs out a laugh and persists, "I meant what I said at the dance about not wanting to do this with anyone else." For a moment her breath hitches because for a split second it sounded like Ricky said he wanted no one but her, _yeah my brain would've short circuited if he did._ The curly haired sophomore thinks to herself while he looks at her with his cute brown eyes and soft smile hiding into his drink. _huh Kinda like what it's doing right now,_ She fidgets with a stray curl, fixes it behind her ear, and thanks the powers that be that the waitress came back with their food. Gina tries for one of her graceful smiles and the waitress gives her one right back. _Pull it together Gina this is a boy, just a stupid boy. Not your soulmate._

Gina clears her throat before she takes a bite of her Burger and Ricky, oblivious as ever, is already a quarter way through his platter of onion rings. "You know you think you're so slick. Thinking talking about all this would distract me from actually writing the contract. Guess what I haven't forgotten about it."

"Man and here I thought it was gonna be the food that made you forget." Ricky replies jokingly.

"Better believe it Bowen, if we don't leave this diner with some form of contractual agreement there will be hell to pay." Gina tilts her chin up in response, eyebrow slightly raised.

"What are you gonna do two step me to help you write it?" Ricky teasingly states with an arrogant smirk and arms crossed.

"Nah I'd figured you'd be too busy not wanting to do this whole thing with anybody else to do it." Ricky shakes his head in amusement at her wordplay, using his own sentiment toward her. He steals a fry in rebuttal and Gina gasps pulling her plate farther from him. He laughs and she feels it everywhere.

_We'll be a fine line_   
_We'll be a fine line_   
_We'll be a fine line_   
_We'll be a fine line_

* * *

* * *

The fall leaves still a burning red and bright golden color fight through the breeze, away from the trees while she sits in the passenger seat of the orange buggy that was getting too familiar to her. _It really isn't that bad,_ Gina thinks to herself bopping her head along to the beat of the song she recognized on the radio.

"I didn't really know what to think when my dad gave me Buggsy, I think I was just glad I even got a car." The drivers seat is occupied by its owner now, it's an unfamiliar sight to her. She's so used to Ricky driving it it sorta gave her a seconds pause to get used to Red being in the other seat when he'd offered to drive her to Ash's after rehersal. Ever since she'd asked about it's eccentric color at the beginning of the car ride Red had been going on about how he'd gotten it.

"I always wanted a car." Gina lightly admitted.

"Yeah what model?"

"I don't know honestly, my dad was always talking about how this baby blue rusty mustang he had when he was younger." Gina looks away from Red's profile and smiles because it's like she can picture her dad, young and free singing oldies on the open road just like he'd done with her all her life. "He died a couple years back." She feels the need to add that part whenever she see's anyones face no matter how slight or quick show expressions mirroring confusion at her using past tense to describe her father. Red's eyes even while focused on the road spelled that confusion then just as quick remorse, already stuttering apologizes.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know."

"It's okay I brought him up, it's not your fault." She assures the red haired boy beside her. It had been years and people had still been apologizing for things out of both their control. Gina feels like she's kinda gotten used to the apologizes by now, the thought saddens her a bit. That she's gotten numb in some respects to her fathers passing, it made her feel like she ran the risk of forgetting him and that made her feel a little bit of everything. Anger, fear, despair all swirling around inside her because of a baby blue mustang probably being sold for parts somewhere in Texas or something.

"I don't know why I asked that I don't know shit about car models. That's probably how I got stuck with this thing" Red admits, the green light highlighting his features as he drives. Gina laughs loud and bright in response.

"Hey I think it's cute before yeah I maybe undercut its value a little bit but that's before I understood its charm." She says coming to the Buggsy's defense. It really isn't so bad especially when she thinks of Ricky taking her to two different diners and driving her back from homecoming, how it all happened in this very car. _Not too bad at all_.

Red pauses looking to her, "You sound like Ricky." he says fighting a laugh, his eyes crinkling.

"Um take that back?!" Gina looks back from the road to his figure in the seat, her eyes are wide with faux shock and a playful glare. Weeks ago it would've made Red want to cower a little and maybe move to different area code if he was being dramatic, she could definitely be intimidating when she wanted to but he learned these past couple of weeks sitting with her at lunch and hanging out with her, Ricky, sometimes Ash even joining in that she was pretty cool. Funny, beautiful (that much was obvious), super talented, and smart. Way too smart to be in some kind of fake dating plot with Ricky. Ricky had told him that she had gotten something out of the deal, never went too much into what it was. _What could she want that he had though?_ Red thought to himself.

"No I don't think I want to." He pretends to think about it before he says it and it makes Gina's eyes widen further, prompting her to slap his arm in retaliation. Something she would've never done with someone she wasn't comfortable with. It makes her realize something. Red's whining at her striking the driver, his drawling on about how he could've swerved into the road uncontrollably, she realizes right then and there besides Ricky and Carlos, he's one of her favorite friends here. _Maybe doing this fake dating thing was a good idea,_ it unintentionally consequently gave her friends in a place she's finally gonna stay in. Of course, she did all of this to get answers and probably protect Ricky from the Porter curse if he really was who she thought he was but her surface level reason she fed to Ricky was starting to come true.

The passenger window is open, the breeze is in her hair, _maybe mom was right maybe opening yourself up can be a good thing can be the only thing to do,_ she thinks the cool breeze passing through her curls.

"What's the deal with you and him by the way?" Red asks cautiously. Ricky's given him the rundown on the fake dating thing and he was clear that he couldn't tell anyone, and that meant anyone, about it. but that didn't mean Red wasn't curious as to how she would react.

"What do you mean?" It felt weird knowing someone was holding something back from a conversation, Red wasn't used to being all-knowing in conversations. Maybe just semi- knowing, just enough to know what's going on or nothing at all but never everything. Gina looked cool like he'd just asked her take on the weather today or something, _wow Ricky's right she is good_.

"Like I don't know you guys seem to be getting close." The Redlight blinks and when he turns to her for some reason he can't help but feel bad for her. Ricky had told him that she asked about his soul mark and he'd lied but they still didn't know if she even had a mark or not. Ricky lied to her about not having a soulmate and here she was pretending to be his (almost) girlfriend when she could have someone waiting on her. He wonders if it would be too much to soon to ask about her own soulmark when she interrupts with a comment of her own.

"You guys have gotten pretty close before too from what I heard." Gina smoothly responds, her arms crossing her coat protecting her from the cold salt lake air.

Reds eyes nearly bug out of his head and his jaw drops, "No way he told you about that." The car behind him actually has to honk (which basically never happens in the nonexistent traffic) and she can't help but laugh at his expression when he drives on.

"He's right you are way out of his league." She presses on, his face is priceless and so she brings a hand up to her mouth to contain her laughter. Red still has this astonished look in his eyes, not many people know of Ricky and Red's crushes on each other in elementary school.

"I can't believe he didn't tell me you knew." He says still surprised, shaking his head. At this Gina squints her eyes a bit in suspicion, this look slips pasts Red's radar seeing as he's still pleasantly surprised she knew. _Ricky wouldn't tell him, would he?_ Gina ponders.Yes, they established their rules only a few weeks ago but he clearly emphasized the importance of not telling anyone about them fake dating. _Ricky wouldn't go back on that at least without telling me he wouldn't_ , she reassures and her confused frowns leaves before her redheaded friend can notice.

"He must really trust you." Red 's looking to her now with this look he doesn't wear often. It looks soft and wistful. It makes her draw her eyes to his and stay for a while, "He must really like you." The words come out soft like the expression he wears on his face, and there lies a small smile. He wants to tell her that he means that genuinely and not with this act they're trying to pull over everyone's heads to save a relationship that didn't help anyone involved. _But I promised my dumbass best friend_ , Red sighs, and clamps his mouth shut to keep from blowing Ricky's spot.

His expression is open and the road ahead is smooth but it feels like they hit a speed bump or something with the way she feels her heart jump. Gina's features freeze for a second, Red probably wouldn't have noticed if the light hadn't gone red. She knows he's talking about the act she's putting on with Ricky, Gina's acted all her life she knows how to do it pretty well. It's just something about how her body reacts and her brain sort of glitches when Red said that, it leaves her a bit breathless and she has to clear her throat before she can find it in herself to respond.

"He's alright" It comes out weaker than she intends and she can't help but softly smile at the mention of the curly-haired boy that did all the wrong moves in rehearsal (and maybe all the right ones outside of it). Gina looks down at her hands and plays with the loose thread of her sweater peaking out of her coat. Red chances a glance at her, sensing the shift in the mood and turns the music up. She gives him a grateful smile and its right then and there Red decides Gina is one of his favorite friends too.

**The Caswell Residence**   
**November 9th 2019**   
**6:14pm**

"Alright, so we've got the popcorn and brownies on the dining table, got some sodas and hard apple ciders in the fridge, don't go too crazy on those," Mr. Caswell gives a somewhat stern look at Ashlyn when he says that part, and Gina's eyes widen. She'd never been at a home so casual about things like alcohol. Then again this was her first time over a friend's house, everyone else's reaction seemed pretty chill except Carlos who looked just as confused. He gave her a look she read as, _Is this a white people thing?_ Gina bites her tongue to keep from laughing and pinches him in response, he yelps and Ashlyn's father continues to list things off. "The lasagna and pizza are in the oven and the ice cream is in the freezer. Did I get everything?"

"Yes! I think you did dad" Ashlyn practically says it with her hands clasped together and wide eyes asking for a reprieve. "Alright I think that should be enough to feed everyone and EJ" Mr. Caswell says pointedly with a fond smile as he puts on his jacket. EJ had always been like a son to him, coming over frequently because not only had his brother, EJ's father, been abroad on business a lot but his mother as well. Ashlyn's father hadn't always been such a family man, he'd been late to pick on Ashlyn more times than he can count but he'd been trying and Ashlyn likes to think that counts more than anything else.

Red, Kourtney, and Carlos move away from the kitchen counter to the dining table to get some popcorn while Ashlyn moves with her father to the front door to see him off, "I'll right I gotta meet your mother at the restaurant, we'll be a little late. I love you Pumpkin."

"Love you, dad, by-" Ashlyn is holding the door knob spelling her goodbyes when her father suddenly interjects and practically yells across the ottoman like he's telling an afterthought, "Oh, by the way, Kourtney so good to see you back here, It's been a minute hasn't it?" Ashlyn's eyes widen impossibly and she looks as if the worst thing that possibly could happen just happened. Red is inhaling the popcorn, while Carlos pauses his eating at the scene along with Gina, and Kourtney looks surprised at the directness but recovers quickly.

"Yeah it has, It's good to see you too Mr. Caswell." Kourtney genuinely smiles when she says it because she means it. It wasn't always Nini's house where their group had always met up, it was Ashlyns sometimes too. Her mom always bought the best snacks and in sleepovers, with her and Nini the makeovers were the best parts. That and the whispered laughs she shared cuddled up with Ash when Nini would fall asleep during the horror movies the boys (Red and Ricky) always dared them to watch before bed. Kourtney grabs another handful of popcorn and tries to bring herself back from the past.

If Ashlyn wasn't so anxious to get her dad to leave before he says anything else to further embarrass her in front of Kourtney, she would've found Kourtney's genuine smile adorable. Right now that isn't the case.

"Please it's always been, Kevin. I know Ashlyn's definitely excited to have you over- well all of you equally-" Mr. Caswell looks at Ashlyns further panicked expression, and tries to backtrack. Only Ashlyn knows there's no saving this conversation so she opens the doors for her dad and interrupts swiftly, "Okay! Dad, love you. Bye." Mr. Caswell tries to wave to them all before Ashlyn promptly closes the door shut and all that's left is Gina giving a polite smile and wave and Red saying a weak, "Bye Mr. Caswell."

Ashlyn huffs out a laugh as she finally lets go of the doorknob behind her. "Family am I right?" Gina nods getting it completely. It had only been nearly a month since homecoming and her mom practically embarrassed her in front of Ricky. Ever since then she'd tried to keep their interactions minimal, it wasn't that hard they didn't really come over to each other's houses often but when they did Gina would try to keep them brief. Her mom had been cool so far but she can't leave it up to chance.

"Tell me about it," Kourtney replies shaking her head as they all dig into the popcorn. Back when Red, Ash, Ricky, and Nini would come over her older sister had always come down complaining about another project she'd been absolutely 'done' with, sometimes she'd even stage these fashion shows and use her friends as her models. They'd all assured her they all thought it was cool, Red's only concern was ruining the clothing with food when he was eating. But there was something about the fact that she always had to do this when **her friends** came over. Like she couldn't let Kourtney have fashion she'd have to have her friends too.

"I think your dad's cool," Red says interrupting Kourtney's thoughts of her sister, he's had his fill of popcorn and drifts to claim his spot on the couch.

"Of course you do, he feeds you whenever you come over" Ashlyn mutters as she takes the big bowl from the center of the dining table and moves it to the coffee table, taking her place on the large brown couch. Red shrugs in response as Kourtney, Carlos, and Gina flock after her and pick their places on the couch. Kourtney next to Ash, Carlos next to Gina using her thighs as a headrest and next to her, Red. Ash smiles when Kourtney scoots in closer to look at a framed picture of little Ash with her cousins at a family reunion, "I can't believe I've never seen this picture before!" She exclaims, enthused. Ashlyn's about to answer but a knock interrupts and she can only assume it's her father.

Carlos looks up, his eyes previously focused on the tv since Ash had given him the control to pick something to watch on the Apple TV. "What'd he forget now?" Ash groans, annoyed at the fact she had to get up from her comfortable position on the couch. Carlos only mildly complains about losing his footrest until Kourtney rolls her eyes and drags his feet to her lap and his eyes go back to the tv with a renewed focus, Gina points out which section he should visit next as she adjusts her legs on the soft material beneath her.

Ashlyn's prepares herself to rush her father through another awkward interaction with her friends, only she stops in place and her face drops when she opens the door and is greeted by a (somewhat) lesser evil in the embarrassment department, "Your dad texted me the food was ready." EJ smiles as he pushes his way through the door.

"Don't you have a key?" Ashlyn questions as they make their way to the living room.

"Sometimes it's more fun this way, you're all annoyed. It's fun." EJ charmingly winks as he takes a seat on the couch next to Red, Ash rolls her eyes at his impossibleness.

"Sup everyone what are we watching?" Ej greets looking toward the television.

"We don't know whether to go with a rom com or musical." Kourtney shrugs as if it were a typical Saturday night for drama geeks.

"I hate watching movies in a group, no one can ever pick a movie." Red says as if it was to himself.

"Whose idea was it to watch a movie?" Gina curiously asks, looking toward the control in Carlos's hand. "Uh hello mine, we're watching a movie because rehearsals have broken all of our spirits and as my favorite people I can't have you all doing that." Carlos defends scrolling through the rom-com section.

"Anything but hsm movies please" EJ begs and they all collectively groan at the reminder of endless singing, dancing, and technical work done the day before. "Please as much as those movies hit if I listen to Troy pine over Gabriella one more time I'll kill someone." Kourtney plainly states grabbing some popcorn, the seriousness in her tone makes Gina question if she would actually do it and she decides she respects that.

The group then engages in a debate over which hsm movie is the best, it's Kourtney and Gina arguing its the third last movie, EJ and Carlos arguing its second that's the best while Red surprisingly makes a case for the classic first movie. Which they all boo because they're sick of it at this point. Gina's laughing too loud at EJ's disturbed face, while Carlos yells over Kourtney's rendition of the can I have this dance song. "Ima need you to lower your voice sir."

"Then fix your opinion miss."

"Well, we're only talking facts over here" Red pointedly says from the couch as they all engage in a sort of showdown. Gina has to laugh again when EJ breaks it and decides to head to the kitchen for a drink, "This is too much" He says waving his hand as if it'll break the tension. They're all hysterical laughing messes except Ashlyn who'd been sneaking glances at Kourtney the whole time and had been surprisingly quiet. Resting her head on her hand, her elbow on the couch. She's smiling at the scene like an outsider, Gina knows what that looks like.

Ash tells everyone that she has to go to her room to get something. "I'll be right back." She states making her way to the stairs, Gina dismisses the feeling. _You don't even know her that well, she's probably tired,_ the curly haired brunette reasons with herself. Carlos, Kourt and Red carry on with the argument. Kourtney with her arms moving with her points, Carlos's quick comebacks and Red's slick comments reigning in the conversation, Gina can't help but shake her head fondly as she makes her way to the Kitchen to find the second person who knew their way around the house. _What a bunch of dorks_.

She finds EJ tossing the bottle opener back into the drawer behind him and taking a sip of the angry orchard on the counter. He nods at her, "Hey you want something?"

"Yeah, actually could you tell me where the bathroom is?" Gina asks leaning on the counter in front of her.

"Oh sure it's upstairs...I'll take you actually." EJ looked like he'd been ready to let her figure it out before he hesitated through the rest of the sentence Gina smirks as she hears Carlos and Kourtney collectively gasp from the living room, astonished Cheetah Girls slander was brought into the conversation.

"Afraid of going back into the fire?" Gina smirks while EJ looks as if he's thinking on what to say next.

"I'm not even gonna pretend that you're wrong because you're not" At this admission Gina laughs as he leads the way. _He doesn't seem that bad,_ she admits to herself. Gina had only had those encounters with the jock in the first few weeks of school. When she signed up for the play and the lunch date from hell with him, Nini and Kourtney. She admittedly hadn't really liked him then. Of course, she heard rumors regarding the water polo jock, _thanks Carlos_. how he'd poisoned the lead girl at the theater summer camp so Nini could get the part and that being the catalyst to their break up besides his insane jealously over Ricky being Troy. And of course, Ricky was never really singing his praises either but now while he explains the Christmas photo gone obviously wrong hung up next to the staircase, she knows he's not that bad.

When they walk up the steps Gina gets to take it all in, she hadn't realized that she didn't get the chance before but the house is cozier than she expected. The hues of browns, reds, and oranges most likely arranged to fit a fall aesthetic down to the soft brown couch but it's warm. The brown framed photo frames arranged along the staircase so that the warmth follows you. It's a house that's lived in that much is apparent.

"So this is-" EJ starts gesturing toward the door to the left of him but he's interrupted by a familiar sound coming a couple paces ahead of them on the creme colored carpet. The door is slightly open and EJ opens it wider, the sounds of his cousin frantic pacing back and forth on a small dark green carpet become clear, ""What if it's too soon?" "What if I should just tell her?" "No don't tell her what if you scare her off?" "I mean how can you even do that she's your soulmate." The thoughts are pouring out of her like a dam broke, or like a locomotive going full speed ahead.

Ashlyn stops, sharply intakes her breath, and nearly falls, her hand on her bed stabilizing her. "What are you guys doing here?" Ash questions nearly breathless, she sounded more shocked than offended.

"I'm so sorry." Gina starts, gesturing apologetically. "Yeah I was just showing her to the bathroom when well..."

"You heard me in here being a complete mess, got it." The red-haired girl sighs, sitting on her white comforter. The room still has that warm tone to it the rest of the house has only there are more green and blue hues than there are anything else, with occasional splashes of white. Gina sees the intricate rainbow woven tapestry above her bed, renaissance and movie posters posted on the walls, pictures of friends and family aligned on her desk and bedsides with crystals and silver pieces next to them. The room feels like Ashlyn.

Ashlyn who is currently near tears sitting on her queen-sized bed with her cousin going her on her right, his hand soothingly rubbing circles on her back. "What happened?" EJ asked, his voice sounds different than Gina's ever heard him speak. It sounds gentler.

"I just- I don't know how to approach this whole thing with a Kourtney. Everyone in this damn family has a picture perfect cookie-cutter love story, it just comes so easy to them but I have so much to lose if this doesn't work. If she-If" Ash doesn't just struggle to find the words, she struggles to breathe a little bit. EJ gestures to Gina to sit on Ash's left and hold her hand, while she feels like an outsider to this scene Ash needs her, so she doesn't hesitate.

"Okay hey Ash listen to me please, I need you to count backwards from ten and squeeze Gina's hand every time you get to the next number. Remember to breathe with it." His voice guides her and Gina looks at him in awe when it starts to work. "You can do it out loud if you have to." EJ softly adds. Ash's eyes are closed as she mouths the numbers and her breathing slows.

A silence settles over them, EJ lets out a sigh of relief when her breathing rate is back to normal and Ash wears the same expression of awe and directs it at EJ for what seems like forever, Gina looks at him too and resists the urge to clap. She mainly doesn't because it doesn't seem like the right time and Ashlyn's hand is still in her but _wow._

"What?" The elder jock asks feeling the weight of both their astonished eyes. "Are you kidding me dude what was that?" Ashlyn questions incredulously and EJ rolls his eyes in response. "Yeah, how did you know what to do?" Gina presses, using her free hand to lean back on the bed.

EJ takes a breath like what he's about to say next is gonna change something, he looks at them both before he answers, " Sometimes I get panic attacks because I get nightmares and a lot of them are about dying alone mainly because in the dream I never fond my soulmate." By the end of it, he's not looking in them in the eyes instead finding solace in the dark green carpet, tracing patterns with his foot.

"I didn't know that stuff affected you like that, all the jokes and stuff I make why didn't you ever tell me? Ashlyn asked.

"Eh I go to therapy, I've started going since the beginning of this year. I like to think I'm more well adjusted than I am. It's a whole thing ego thing according to my therapist" Ashlyn shakes her head and give him a grateful smile, Gina would've probably felt like she was intruding on a family moment except Ash motions to grab her hand again and squeezes them both.

"Well thank you both for calming me down. I appreciate you both being here with me." Ashlyn's eyes glow with gratitude when she looks at them both, and EJ's smile is comforting and calm. "Especially you, I don't even really know you that well." Gratitude specifically directed to Gina, both girls can't help but laugh at the situation they seemed to found themselves in. If Gina had told her father about this moment he probably would've called it fate, that destiny intervened because the universe knew Ash would need someone like her at that exact moment.

"It's okay, we all get in our head every once in a while," EJ reassures. _I really misjudged that guy,_ Gina thinks drawing small circles with her thumb on Ash's hand.

"It's just I know Kourtney, I've known her for a long time. What if I'm not what she wants? What if she can never see me as her soulmate?" Gina's eyes soften to the girl, "You don't know that." she tells her because it's true she doesn't. She has all the time in the world to make that 'perfect love story' everyone in her family has.

"And you never will know that unless you try, and that means not running away from her when she's downstairs probably counting the minutes till you come back." EJ states.

"What if she only wants me as a friend? What if-" Ash presses on, "You'll drive yourself crazy with the what if's, besides if you guys are soulmates, which you are because of the whole matching tattoo thing, then there's no way she can reject you. That's not how that works." EJ assures Ash, leaning in trying to find her green eyes looking down to her lap. Gina fights the urge to correct him because that is definitely not what Ash needs at the moment. _Your soulmate can reject you if you're cursed and practically destined to be alone for the rest of your life,_ Gina glumly thinks to herself while moving her hand to rub Ashlyn's arm comfortingly.

Ash must notice her face change because she touches the hand placed on her arm, apologetic expression adorned on her features, "This must suck I'm so sorry to just spill this on to you. You just wanted to go to the bathroom." Ash laughs and Gina sends her a weak smile of her own.

"Well as long as we're all talking about our traumas and fears it's only fair you get to talk about yours." EJ shrugs and as soon as the words come out of his mouth Ashlyn's hand moves out of her grasp to wack her cousin upside the head.

"What?! No, she doesn't!" Ash exclaims, annoyed at her cousin's brash cavalier attitude. "Gina, You don't, really." Ashlyn gently reiterates to her, looking her right in the eyes, and the curly-haired girl nods. Silence goes over the space and Gina goes back and forth in her head on whether or not to let this moment of vulnerability pass. _I mean he did ask_ , Gina thinks biting her lip.

"I got my soul mark back in June." EJ and Ash's heads snap to her so quickly Gina wouldn't be laughing if she wasn't gonna spill her guts out to acquaintances at most potential friends. "I have this um.. telepathic connection with my soulmate. It wasn't always strong, you know we've had our fair share of conversations but never really anything big. When I was a kid I loved the idea of soulmates you know? like every kid does." Gina has to get up from the and break Ash's hold, she plays with her fingers as she continues. The Caswell's listening intently from the bed.

_We'll be a fine line_   
_We'll be a fine line_   
_We'll be a fine line_

"And then my dad died." Ashlyn's lips part and EJ's eyebrows furrow in concern," and I learned everything I knew about soulmates was a lie from my mother who basically taught me all my life to build walls up while my father literally tried to teach me the opposite, so real fun childhood guys." Gina's pacing on the carpet now.

"I learned about this stupid Porter curse," Ashlyn's eyebrows raise and EJ mutters a confused, "What?" and Ash smacks his arm, urging him not to interrupt. Gina continues as if she didn't hear then, too caught up in her feelings "It's basically the fact that every person in my person in my family has never been able to be happy with their soulmates, meeting them is a bad omen." Just thinking about the potential danger she could be putting Ricky in sets her nerves all the way up, she paces more just thinking of it. "You know I thought it was Ricky at first that he could've been my soulmate you know because his voice was just so familiar." EJ's jaw drops and Ashlyns eyes widen as she ponders the possibility.

"What is with that guy??! Seriously." Ashlyn doesn't even bother hitting EJ for his comment, Gina's looking out of her window pane lost in thought and Ash urges her to continue, she appreciates it.

"I mean I know it's impossible because he told me he doesn't even have a soul mark but I just-." At that Ash's face scrunches in confusion even EJ next to her pauses and looks to his cousin for confirmation of the truth. Practically everyone knew the catalyst to Ricky and Nini breaking up was him getting his soul mark. The Caswell's share a look as Gina continues, "I don't even hear my soulmates voice in my head anymore I haven't since like September and I'm used to the radio silence but it's driving me crazy that I have nothing to go off of. Like I could be putting a stranger in danger by even meeting him." Gina finishes, slumping herself onto the white comforter, and covering her eyes with her hands.

The Caswell's share another look, "Wow...thats rough buddy." EJ admits nearly astonished by the entire story. For once Ashlyn shares the same sentiment, with so much to process she can only nod. "Yeah I thought we had it bad" Ash says, the red-haired girl pulls Gina from her position on the bed to sit up, she moves to the other side of her, and Gina looks on curiously until she doesn't because they both wrap her in a hug, safe and sound. _A Caswell Sandwich_ , she smiles thinking to herself. Warmth collects from her stomach wrapping around her like a cocoon, she's so glad it's them hugging her and that it's no one else. _Maybe dad made some points about this fate thing._

"Was this the first time you ever talked about this?" Ashlyn asks, her cheek still squished into Gina's shoulder. She can only find it in herself to nod without getting emotional because Ash and EJ really are the first and only people in the world she told about her soulmark. Ash makes eye contact with her, gives her another smile sending nothing but strength and hope, and loops her arms around her shoulders again. This time squeezing her. EJ seems to get the memo to do the same and they both do it until she giggles.

"You guys are doing a group hug without us?!" Red asks leaning on the bedroom door, EJ squeals startled and falls from Gina and Ash's embrace on the bed onto the floor. They all laugh until Carlos opens the door wider from his position behind Red, "More importantly were you guys gossiping without us?"

"Where the hell did you come from?" EJ asked both alarmed and confused, Gina and Ash can't help but chuckle from the bed, arms linked.

"Where the hell did y'all go is more like it?" This time it's Kourtney that asks as she walks into the room commanding the space with ease, eating a bowl of ice cream with a brownie at the center. "Yeah we've been looking for you everywhere we want to stuff our faces in ice cream" Red whines, with his arms crossed.

Ash looked to Gina to try and fill in the blanks, they both look to EJ on the floor who just shrugs. _Of course, men are useless_ , she resists the urge to roll her eyes. "EJ was showing me where the bathroom was and right as Ash was about to come down they decided it would be best to give me a tour." Gina gracefully explains, EJ nods at her words with a smile and so does Ash.

"I gave her the story behind this bad boy," Ashlyn unlinks her arm with Gina as she rolls over to the other side of her bed to grab a picture frame. She shows the picture to Kourtney who moved next to Gina on the bed and she lets out a startled laugh at the sight. She moves to show the Red whose snorts, and the rest look at each other confused.

"I'm confused what am I looking at?" Carlos asks adjusting his glasses moving to take his place on the queen-sized bed next to Gina.

Gina has to keep her confusion to herself for the sake of the lie but she's curious about it herself and glad he asks. "It was their cliques' weird little field day," EJ answers, brushing off the back of his pants so he could also sit on the bed too. Ash rolls her eyes and makes a face at him that basically said, _jealous much_. EJ makes one right back to mock her like siblings.

Ash looks away and instead shares a look with Kourtney and Red smiling before she gets into the story of how a knee scraped Ricky, Red holding an egg and a bowl of gelatin in both hands gesturing a peace sign to the camera regardless, Kourtney holding a cheetah print burlap sack, Nini holding what was left of her long hair in her hand and Ashlyn front and center in a meditative pose all come together to form this one chaotic picture. "Yes, It was our middle school field day." Ash finally answers passing the picture around like it was show and tell.

When Gina gets it her eyes automatically stop to Ricky and his somewhat pained grin, he's holding what look's to be his very obvious scraped knee almost as if he was trying to hide it. She wants to laugh but then she sees Nini's elbow propped at an angle slightly taller than she was on Ricky's shoulder.

_We'll be a fine line_   
_We'll be a fine line_   
_We'll be a fine line_

"Also known as the most chaotic day ever," Kourtney adds eyes wide with a smile.

"I swear that day was a fever dream," Red says confidently, his hands resting behind his head on his best friend's bed.

Carlos finally gets the picture and Gina is so grateful he exists, "Oh Nini's hair cut here...honey" Gina's head finds her way to his shoulder whiles tries to contain her laugh.

"I forgot why but someone had to donate hair for the team" Kourtney defends her best friend but even she starts laughing when she looks at the picture again then they're all back to that place, holding in laughs and looking at each other. The stare down that's a gateway to the inevitable. They all bust out laughing until their stomachs hurt.

_We'll be alright_   
_We'll be alright_

* * *


	7. vi. Always

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rina are finally *fake* official, drama ensues. Ash wants a sleepover party to remind everyone of the good old days, idea courtesy of EJ, Carlos is Gina's bestie: confirmed and Ricky is definitely team Peter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First and foremost thank you to everyone reading this story, it honestly means so much to hear from you gives. Whether it's from likes, kudos, dms, anything. I love the interactions. I love hearing what you guys think of the story or any theories you may have or things you wanna see I'm so open to anything. Keep in mind that Ricky's thoughts are bolded and italicized while Gina's are just italicized. Throughout the chapter but mainly towards the end I borrowed some lines from ships and songs I love, kudos to you if you figure it out. Try to comment what you think they are if you want, again thank you for sticking with this story this year has been crazy, I hope you're all staying safe. Happy reading!

_What am I supposed to do without you?_   
_Is it too late to pick the pieces up?_   
_Too soon to let them go?_   
_Do you feel damaged just like I do?_

**East High School**   
**November 10th 2019**   
**3:36pm**

Ricky has actually managed to not trip on his feet for this number and it honestly takes Nini by surprise.

Granted they aren't really dancing in this scene. The East High theater gang is blocking this rehearsal as they have been all week. Props are swirling around them while Ricky and Nini are on a wooden block, above it all, singing out their heart's content to breaking free. He's smiling big and bright and Nini can only look at his eyes, his adorable doe brown eyes.

The brunette girl also smiles and can't help but remember seemingly endless nights at her house singing along with Kourt while Ash came up with some kind of interpretive dance. Red ate snacks and bopped his head along while Ricky chimed in, joining her on top of her living room table singing to whatever Disney music video playing on the TV, only when he was 'feeling up to it'. Nini breaks out into a full-blown grin because it's like her and Ricky are on that wooden table again. _Like old times._

But then she sees his eyes drift.

Nini sees his eyes look to the girl moving her head along with the music, sitting on the grand piano, her curls swishing with the movement. Gina's smile widens and the shorter girl notices her hands move from the piano to her lap as if she couldn't contain her excitement at hearing Ricky sing, hearing his improvement. Nini can't help but wonder if it wasn't only the practice that was making Ricky better but something else. _Someone else_ , her mind finishes for her.

Nini can nearly feel her voice falter a bit and she's never been more relieved that a song finished. Miss Jenn praises them on their improvement but still says there's room for growth. The pointed look she gives Nini lets her know that her little slip up at the end did not go unnoticed. Nini's gaze drifts to the floor while the rampant thoughts swirl in her mind. If Gina really is Ricky's soulmate like she suspects surely they would've found out by now. Her arms cross, watching Ricky as he bows to collect his bag next to the seats. For some reason thinking about this makes her want to jump at the chance to talk to him.

He gives her a small smile before he turns, his direction settled on the piano before her arm works on its own accord attaching itself to his shoulder. "Hey uh, Ricky good work today." Nini awkwardly chuckles while he backtracks his steps a bit. The piano still in his view. "You seem different now, I don't know lighter."

"Really?" Ricky's eyebrows furrow curiously. He's gripping the strap of his bookbag slung on his right shoulder, where his mark is. Nini lets that thought pass through her mind as fast as it came and practically leaps on the opportunity to answer his question and continue the conversation. 

"Yeah you're kinda killing it, especially today" The smaller brunette elaborates, her arms awkwardly fling as she says it, and Ricky quietly laughs, scratching the back of his head.

"We kinda killed it." He nods to her, adjusting his bag. That smile is still etched on his face and Nini doesn't want to part with it.

_Your face, it makes my body ache_   
_It won't leave me alone_

"Oh for sure." She nods back with a smile of her own. It doesn't stay on for long though. Nini's just about to ask him if he wanted to maybe rehearse a bit more after this when she sees his eyes drift to Gina still sitting on top of the brown piano, her head turned laughing brightly at something Seb said. Nini feels herself drifting forward to catch Ricky again but he gives her one of those head nods he used to give her as greetings and walks toward the curly haired sophomore. Before when he would give her the customary head nod, he would then sling his arm around her neck and give her a loud kiss on the cheek. Nini would giggle pretending to hate it (she didn't).

"W-we should rehearse together sometime, you know outside of rehearsal. Um, maybe I don't know." Nini practically yells awkwardly, taking a step forward as he drifts off.

_And this feels like drowning  
Trouble sleeping  
Restless dreaming_

"For sure Nini." Ricky spares her a quick glance and like an eager puppy is off on his way, walking past her. Nini's lips purse, at the mention of her name. It makes her feel ridiculous that she's saddened at the fact that he called her by her name but he'd usually opted to use Neens ever since they were kids.

_You're in my head  
Always, always  
I just got scared  
Away, away  
_

"Gina Ballerina," Ricky calls and Gina turns her gaze from the blonde closing the piano case to her fake boyfriend. Somehow her smile widens and her eyes fondly roll at the newfound nickname Ricky had taken to calling her recently. He's standing in front of her now, taking her hands in his as he guides her off the piano. Gina glides down and lands right in front of him, their hands still clasped together.

"Don't you two think it's about time y'all made it official?" The blonde asked, neatly putting away the sheet music. The teens in question turn to look at Seb, looking at them with a knowing smile. Then they turn to look back to one another, Ricky's eyes as wide as Gina's at the question. Naturally, Gina recovers from the question first, plastering on a coy smile. Ricky tries not to look like a deer in headlights, he thinks Gina's hand in his makes it better. ** _It makes everything better actually_**. He tries to shake off the thought and the feeling that her touch seems to pacify a lot more than just his anxiety but something else.

"What if we already have?" Gina teases, tilting her head up. She's an actress first. An actress still holding Ricky's hand and finding she really doesn't want to let go. _That's a problem,_ her mind pesters.

"Then I'm surprised half the school doesn't already know and that you guys have been able to keep it to yourselves this long."

"Gina's good at everything so I wouldn't be surprised." Ricky blurts, it seems a little ill-timed like it was supposed to quell Seb's curiosity. Gina looks back up at Ricky, her eyes now spelling surprise and something else at his words. Ricky's gaze is set on Seb as the blonde now shrugs, "I don't doubt that."

He gives the presumed couple a commercial smile and meets Carlos by the door.

Ricky lets out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding until Seb leaves and Gina can't help but smile at his relief. The room is basically the two of them at this point, everyone else had filed out to the auditorium for the rest of the rehearsal.

"And here I thought you'd gotten better at improvising" Gina smugly states, her arms crossed.

"You're a pretty good teacher, not a miracle worker Gina," Ricky replies. This whole theater thing has actually taught him a thing or two about acting and it wasn't just from watching Gina perform (although Ricky's taken to looking at her regardless of whether they were in rehearsal or not... _ **friends look at each other okay**_ ) but sometimes when they weren't messing around and they actually ran there lines like miss Jenn had asked them to do while she worked with Nini, Gina gave him a couple of pointers. Of course, Miss Jenn did too, and EJ even chimed in a few times (it was safe to say that Ricky didn't detect sarcasm that came with it 7/10 times it happened, **_progress_** ).

"Really? because I'm pretty sure you told Seb I basically am one." The curly-haired sophomore confidently pouts her lips and Ricky feels the smile he tries to fight off while his hand fidgets with his book bag.

"Or wait what was it exactly?" Ricky's eyes roll at her teasing, looking away from her. "That I'm basically good at everything." Gina finishes as she pokes his sides, trying to get in his line of sight. He tries to bat her hand away and can't help the laugh.

"It's true though!" He says brightly.

"He is right about one thing though," Gina admits.

"Yes I get it you're amazing and the best at everything. We all knew that already." Ricky says with his arms, he nearly bows to her conceding defeat to nothing in particular.

"No! Ricky," Gina laughs while she shoves him, "I mean we have to define what 'this' is."

"This?" Ricky practically whispers, his voice delicate and hush. Like the prospect of 'this' is worth more than what either of them can describe. Like it's worth more its weight than gold, and it's apparent when the tone of their conversation shifts because of this one statement. Gina lets out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding now and his doe brown eyes still won't leave hers.

"Oh I-I just mean like confirming the fake relationship you know? because of the contract? You know number 4? and so the rumors won't be completely pointless...like Seb mentioned" Gina awkwardly states and the air around them shifts with the weight of possibility to something else.

_I'd rather choke on my bad decisions  
Then just carry them to my grave  
You're in my head_

"Yeah, yeah! Totally. Nini has definitely heard by now. Might as well confirm were 'dating'." Ricky shyly laughs, his hand scratching the back of his neck. He feels the urge to avoid her eyes rise by the minute for some reason. His eyes widen for a moment when it hits him she mentioned the contract, how he'd broken a rule by telling Red and suddenly not looking her in the eye sounds like his best bet.

Gina nods at the mention of the brunette and lets it settle in her mind that this was the person Ricky was doing all of this for. Ricky gives her a simple nod back and a tight smile while he heads for the door, back to the rest of rehearsal.

Gina grabs her other bag and her mind drifts. She might have brought him back to the show but Nini was the reason he auditioned, to begin with, the person he's faking a relationship for. Not to mention Gina only brought him back to confirm her ridiculous idea that he could be her soulmate. Even though it was practically impossible because he didn't have a mark. But she could be putting his life in danger if by some possibility Ricky was her soulmate (frankly the whole thing makes her head hurt). _I'm being so selfish,_ Gina guiltily thinks to herself.

"What?" Ricky turns at the door, his expression turned curious.

"I can't believe I just said that out loud." Gina breathes out, slapping her forehead with a stupid nervous grin. "Sorry, it's nothing." She shakes her head.

Ricky's eyes scrunch adorably before he smiles at her and the air around them clears again, he nods to the door next to him. "Come on." Gina passes through the door he opened for her and they're both smiling. Ricky shakes his head at the sophomore that had come to mean more to him than he knew.

 _Always, always, always_

* * *

* * *

**East High School**   
**November 16th 2019**   
**6:27pm**

Gina didn't really feel the day until the end of rehearsals. It was always the very last second when miss Jenn would call it after practicing a big number that Gina exhaled and the tiredness would sink into her bones. She would get compliments on her performances, her singing, her acting and they were actually genuine (not just pathetic attempts at lower her guard so that someway somehow some other poor insecure girl could get lead).

She would hear the laughter, the sound of sneakers shuffling because EJ would try to avoid Kourtney's direct hits for moving during his costume fitting. Sometimes Gina couldn't believe that it's something she's apart of. She'd been in plenty of shows before of course but none that felt like this. The familiarity like something that seemed so unattainable was right in front of her. Ricky had always been there to snap her out of it, make her laugh, hold her hand, and drive her home. Absolutely none of it felt real, which is probably because it wasn't. The curly haired beauty would often have to remind herself of this.

"You ready?" Ricky asks her, holding out his hand. Gina thinks from the corner of her eye she can see Nini smiling at something Kourtney said, then upon seeing Ricky's outreached hand the smile dropped. The smaller girl looked away quickly taking a new interest in her book bag. It was somewhat of an odd pattern that would occur in rehearsals, Ricky and Gina would come in together after he came to pick her up from her last class and Nini would try her best to avoid eye contact with them both until she absolutely had to (it didn't always make rehearsals a complete pain when she actually managed to be professional). Then they would leave school together holding hands, carpooling with Red. She can't forget how happy Ricky seemed to be that their plan was 'working' when he actually noticed the looks Nini gave them, but his eyes didn't read the same feeling. Gina actually thought that sometimes he'd actually looked like he felt kinda guilty.

"Yup," Gina smiles and intertwines his hand in hers. The fact that they also made their fake relationship official just a mere few days ago added on to her surprise that this was actually her life. It'd been surprisingly easy. Like everyone had been expecting them to come together eventually after what seems like weeks of teetering around the fine line of friendship and something else, or at least that's what they succeeded at trying to make it seem like they did.

The pair had actually managed to become pretty good friends.

"Hey, Porter where you going? We're taking you home today remember?" _Speaking of good friends_ , Gina thinks smiling to herself. Ricky and her turn to find the Caswells behind them waiting. Ricky jumps a bit at seeing Ash, someone he'd been trying vehemently to avoid since she texted him about lying to Gina about his mark. "H-hey Ash."

"Ricky, it's been a minute." Ashlyn cooly says, her arms crossed. Gina's eyes follow her expression back to Ricky's now nervous deposition.

"Oh well, you know play, school, skateboarding, Gina. What can I say I'm booked." He rambles, his arm now shifting around Gina's frame as if that action would settle him. Ricky exhales and it seems like it did.

"I'll bet you are." Ash nods and smiles a wry smile. _You lying liar who lies_ , the red-headed thinks to herself. She fights the urge to shake her head at her best friend at the moment. Ashlyn had really tried to get him to talk to her after he hadn't texted her back. To some degree, she understood because when Ricky was pushed too far he tended to hide out but Gina was just now started to become her friend. She deserved to know that he had a soulmark and a telepathic connection with his someone, regardless if that was Gina or not, that was for them to figure out.

"Okay uh, Gina you still coming?" EJ warily asks, turning his suspicious gaze from his cousin and Ricky to Gina.

The curly-haired sophomore in question moves her eyes from Ricky and Ashlyn's showdown to EJ and remembers she had agreed to visit this new coffee place that opened up in town after school. They'd made plans to go this week during one of the various lunches together excluding Ricky much to his dismay but also his delight because as Gina had put it "You are fulfilling your part of the deal Bowen. I'm kicking ass at making actual friends" and that he just couldn't disagree with even though Ricky didn't really have to try, it seemed like it was all Gina. Even if she was friends with EJ Caswell now of all people.

"Yeah, I'm down to go." Gina hesitantly responds, she can't help but wonder what the tension around Ricky and Ash was about. He hadn't told her about any fights they'd gotten into recently, the same could be said for Ash. At her response, the tension seems to break though because while one minute his eyes are pointed at the red head in front of him they shift to Gina beside him and soften with his pouted lips.

The junior had actually been looking forward to taking her home today. In his third period Econ class, Mr. Dane had actually managed to say 'um' 36 times in class today, blowing his record of 24 completely out of the water. Gina had suggested making little games like that in class in order to keep engaged and it actually had been working. He'd gotten a solid B- on his last quiz and now every time he put down a tally after his teacher had uttered the words he couldn't help but smile. Ricky had actually wanted to talk about the little things, something as mundane as his day to someone. To Gina, in the passenger seat of his best friend's car with them both teasing him about his inability to focus on anything.

When Gina is hit with his soft gaze and pout she nearly lets it slip, _he's adorable_. She suddenly thinks about his improvement in acting over the weeks because she almost thought his disappointment sounded real.

"You'll see her again tomorrow Romeo." Ash pointedly says, rolling her eyes teasingly. They really did make a cute couple, even if Ricky was an idiot. Gina solidifies the statement with a chaste kiss on the cheek, close to the corner of his mouth.

Ricky smiles and finally lets his arm detach from her waist, he lets her go.

_Cracks won't fix and the scars won't fade away_

_I guess I should get used to this_

_The left side of my bed's an empty space_

He's not even five feet away before the Caswells begin their teasing. Ricky can't help but shake his head and turn his head, Gina's shoving a smug EJ while Ashlyn giggles. He smiles and walks out of the rehearsal space, a smile of his own threatening to take over.

"You're a menace to society!" The brunette sophomore exclaims in response.

"And Ricky makes heart eyes at you constantly but you don't hear me going on about that now do you?" Gina's heart tries not to stutter it really does. She almost sighs out in relief when she sees Ricky was already gone when she turns to look back at the other exit. _It's not real it's not real,_ she reminds herself.

"Yeah well, at least he's not as bad as Ashlyn!" Gina says, noting the girls now pointed glare at the door. She wants to ask what was up with the weird tension between her and Ricky but she doesn't really know how to approach it. This whole friend's thing was kinda new to her. It was just so easy with Ricky. He told her what was up whenever she noticed he'd been down even if it took a little prodding. He hadn't run away or anything like that but would Ashlyn? The curly brunette decides against it when Ashlyn's gaze snaps back to the pair as they make their way to the halls of East High.

"Please! Kourtney would've definitely noticed by now if I was." Ashlyn admits nearly exasperated. They'd only been talking again for a couple of weeks now and Ashlyn had been trying to handle the situation as delicately as she could. Things just weren't the same as they were before. Kourt had been a little taken back when she mentioned getting lunch together, just them the first time, but the air of awkwardness still lingered. Ashlyn assumed Kourtney was wondering what had changed and that's why it probably felt weird but she didn't want Kourtney to be with her out of obligation. When she found out Kourtney was her soulmate she was shocked but then with time she actually realized that it all made sense. That every time her, Ricky, Red, Nini, and Kourtney hung out together she was always anxious to see her at the door or be the one that made her laugh, or be the secret crush she giggled about among whispers at a slumber party. She just hadn't realized it until now.

_I remember we were strangers  
So tell me what's the difference  
Between then and now_

"Oh believe me you are. Why don't you just tell her?" EJ asks, opening the car door. The parking lot brought a gentle winter breeze, Gina shivered while giving her friend a curious glance.

"Because everything changed and If I admit this then...I don't know things could change again? and maybe not for the better?" Ashlyn sighs as they all settle in EJ's car. Every day _I'm reminded this boy is rich_ , Gina thinks to herself adjusting to the heated seats. "Ricky mentioned you guys used to all be friends." She responds from the back seat, curious.

"Yeah we haven't really hung out much lately, things have been a little awkward since the whole Nini and Ri-" Ashlyn stops in her tracks when it hits her whose in the car with her.

"Since the whole break up" Gina finishes, EJ stiffens a bit in his seat. Ash clears her throat upon realizing EJ had also been affected by the reminder, being Nini's ex and all. Gina's eyes drift to the window as they drive out of the lot, she was getting reminded of the real reason why she was doing this whole thing with Ricky a lot more recently. Of course, it went beyond just getting Nini back herself but aspects of his old life like his friends and his family (a bit more of a reach but she's not sure she can talk about that with him yet). Regardless it was all for Nini.

_And why does this feel like drowning?  
Trouble sleeping  
Restless dreaming_

Silence settles over the car for a bit until EJ's breaks it, _he has to be an expert at this point_. "They used to hang out all the time, it was annoying." EJ pointedly says to his cousin in the passenger seat.

"You didn't seem to mind when it brought a certain brunette to my place and you welcomed yourself over." Ashlyn teasingly replies back. EJ thinks back to the simpler days. He'd always told Ashlyn he'd wanted nothing to do with the younger rag-tag group of friends but Nini had always been so nice to him, it always drew him back. She always asking if he'd wanted to join in whatever they were doing despite Ashlyn's protests, he knew his cousin wanted friends of her own so he couldn't really blame her. EJ only recently realized, thanks to therapy, it could be difficult living in his shadow.

"Did we not just establish Ricky is a menace to society? I did not go over to your house for that boy." The car fills with laughter as Ashlyn's eyes playfully roll at her cousin's sass. Gina grins while she looks to Ashlyn noting her face now wistful, _she misses them_. She can only imagine (literally) having friends like EJ and Ash then suddenly not being able to talk to them because the air of awkwardness just won't leave, the need to pick sides remains.

EJ must notice this too because his hand on the wheel shifts, "You guys should have a sleepover." The senior proposes.

"What?" Ash asks confused. Gina considers the idea from her heated backseat.

"With Nini and Kourtney? You know like the ones you guys used to have? Maybe it'll help smooth things over I mean after everything that's happened. To be honest, It's kinda like you choose Red and Ricky over them, that's probably how they feel."

"That's a good point." Gina agrees, EJ shoots her a small smile in the rearview mirror.

"Well I-I never wanted them to feel that way. I mean we were all friends, I didn't want to choose any side. I really didn't think I was, Nini just didn't talk to me as much anymore and when that happened neither did Kourt." Ash laments.

"What if Nini thinks you were the one that stopped talking to her?" EJ questions.

"How do you know that?" Ash snaps back.

"How do you not?" Gina chimes in from her backseat in the middle of the Caswells. Ashlyn turns to her, her expression in mock disbelief at the lack of solidarity. EJ laughs as he makes another turn.

"I see why that 4.0 is the way it is. You're literally an intellect." Ash admits finally turning to him in wonder.

"What can I say I'm a wise man of many talents." He winks. Gina laughs as Ash turns to her again, she'd been immune to her cousin's charm since forever. "I want you to be there" The redhead insists with a smile on her face.

"I've never been to a sleepover before" Gina admits cautiously. That wasn't the only reason she was hesitating to go. A sleepover with Ricky's ex-girlfriend who he was trying to get back with by doing this ridiculous plot with yours truly? Yeah, she'd have to pass.

"All the more reason for you to come," Ash says. "I feel like EJ's right this could really help smooth things over."

"Im sorry I'm what?" EJ asks with his hand behind his ear. Ash attempts to smack it away before his hand moves.

"Don't push it, Elijah James." Ash pointedly says.

"Not my government in front of people, what is wrong with you?" EJ replies looking back and forth between his cousin and Gina who looked like she'd been holding in a laugh. See mouths the name, _Elijah James_ , before fully containing her smile.

"Relax, Gina isn't just people, she's one of us now."

"Yeah relax Elijah" Gina teases with a grin.

"Oh my God" He says while turning into the cafe lot.

"So are you coming?" The younger Caswell asks expectedly. EJ's gaze now settled on her too, his eyes basically imploring her to say yes. Even though apart of Gina had been nervous then quickly excited at the prospect, it's something she'd never done and secretly always wanted. Something she wasn't allowed to really want because she'd been everywhere in return.

Something tells Gina that her mother would actually support her decision now but it still doesn't change the fact that it would probably be weird, the Nini of it all. They hadn't really spoken since that weird lunch they all had together nearly two months ago at the start of it all, they barely talk at rehearsals and the only glances she really gets from Nini are those she sees her sneak of her and Ricky together.

"Fine yes I'll go" Gina caves. Her friends looking at her with such hope and awaiting her reply maybe had something to do with it. If she loses it all in the end, Ricky, everything at least she'd still have them. A tempestuous smile appears on her face at the bittersweet thought.

"Yes! I promise it's gonna be so much fun." Ashlyn assures, her hand gripping Gina's quickly before undoing her passenger seat belt. _I'll bet_ , the curly haired girl thinks to herself as she makes her way out of the back seat.

* * *

**The Porter Residence**   
**November 23th 2019**   
**4:08pm**

"I brought the popcorn as requested." It's the first thing that comes out of Ricky's mouth when she opens the door in her fluffy PJ set. He welcomes himself inside and shrugs his shoes off by the door while her arms cross over her exposed stomach. Her eyes curious and wary, "I thought you were gonna come by a little later?" Gina asks.

"Oh well you know I just wanted to come by I didn't wanna miss the movie or anything." Ricky takes in the decor and smells something sweet, like chocolate. The house feels cozy, like the total opposite of his desolate lonesome house right now.

Just before Gina could comment she wouldn't have started without him considering that was the whole reason he was stopping by, her mother greets him. "Ricky! Hi, How are you?"

"Hi, Ms. Porter! I'm doing pretty good." Ricky brightens.

"Ricky you've gotta know my name is Grace by now." Ms. Porter lightly admonishes.

"I know I'm sorry." He apologetically laughs, that smile has to have gotten him out of trouble one too many times. Gina looks at his profile, how he shyly looks down before making eye contact again. How her mother seemingly softens and the situation is bizarre to her like she's entered some alternate reality and that someone has taken her real mom. These past couple of weeks with her mom opening up to her has put her in a position where they're both more open with each other than they were before. So Gina's not really sure what to tell her mom about her situation with Ricky, mainly because she doesn't really want to lie. So she hasn't really told her anything, it was safe to say her mother probably made her own assumptions.

"You brought popcorn all is forgiven." Her mom replies with a smile as she takes the box from his hands to the kitchen. "Brownies will be out in a minute!" She calls to the pair behind her.

Ricky turns to Gina, a soft smile resting on his lips "She's so cool."

"I..I know." Gina blinks. Ricky moves to the couch and adjusts himself to get comfortable, he looks back up to the now quiet curly haired sophomore sitting at the opposite end of the couch. She grabs the pillow next to her and the remote for the tv to pull up Netflix, Ricky looks at her profile."Do you think that's a bad thing?'

"What?"Gina's expression (cutely at least to him) scrunches in confusion.

"That you mom's cool now?" Ricky recalls their conversation at the diner, how it was easier to talk to her mom now than it was before. It actually reminded him of how he had the opposite problem with his mom, how now it was difficult to talk to her.

"Yeah." She states plainly, pausing before she continues. "I don't know...I guess these past couple of weeks how different everything's is catching up to me." Ricky nods, shifting closer to her. He completely understood, these past couple of months with everything changing with his friends and at home sometimes it still hit him how different everything was. How it made him feel powerless sometimes like he was never equipped for change and just now is when life decided to test him on it.

"And it's just so crazy because I've been dealing with things changing my whole life, you'd think I'd know by now," Gina admits, she tries to let out a laugh but it comes out a bit broken and disconnected.

_You're in my head  
Always, always  
I just got scared  
Away, away_

"Well as someone who's basically never had to deal with change a day in his life, from my point of view you're doing pretty good." Ricky practically whispers, his eyes are as soft as his voice. She hadn't realized how close he'd gotten until she turned to him with a small smile on her lips. For a minute it actually looked like he was leaning in a bit but that also happened to be the opportune moment her mother came back into the living room with a bowl full of popcorn and a plate full of brownies.

"Alright, I'm ready." Grace excitedly claims, the two teens on the couch jump apart. Gina busy's herself with trying to find the movie with her remote while Ricky awkwardly moves his arm to adjust the pillow behind him. _Did he just-_ Gina mind stutters.

_I'd rather choke on my bad decisions  
Then just carry them to my grave  
You're in my head_

**Did I almost-,** Ricky asks himself wide eyed from the other end of the comfortable brown couch, suddenly hyper-aware of the fact that Gina was in a crop top.

The opening sequence of Lara Jean in a field of green plays, her mother is already entranced, focused on the scene even though they had already seen the movie after they finished the book weeks ago. Gina would've found it adorable if she didn't feel every single subtle movement Ricky made next to her on the couch and her breath hitch every time it did.

Ricky snuck a glance her way every time he moved, hoping she wouldn't notice when he did.

"Gina honey could you scoot over I wanna out my legs up?" Her mother whispers, chewing a kernel. This time Gina sneaks a glance his way and she moves more into his space, just a little. Ricky decides to move his arm to rest on the back of the couch so their hands wouldn't brush against each other, _not that I was thinking about that though,_ Ricky coughs. This also meant that his arm was somewhat around her. _Good thinking Bowen,_ His mind sarcastically adds.

Gina stiffens a bit but before Ricky can take his arm back, she relaxes and sinks a bit further into the couch. Ricky tries to focus on the screen ahead of him with as much focus as her mom clearly is but he stops breathing for a bit. **_This feels nice_**.

The junior clears his throat remembering where he was, "I hope this guy as cute as you said he was."

"Well, it's more of a vibe he has," Gina replies with her eyes on the screen.

Ricky turns to look at her, his eyebrows furrowed "A vibe? I was coaxed to watch this movie on a vibe? I was promised, cute boys." He asks half-jokingly.

"Oh, Peter's a dreamboat." Ms. Porter assures. "Like a young Mark Ruffalo" She finishes humming into her brownie. Gina and Ricky try to stifle their giggles in response, but it gets a little difficult when her mother gently kicks Gina's thigh in clear efforts to get the pair to focus on the movie.

"Ah I see Grace, you like the dreamy charming type," Ricky says wiggling his eyebrows, Gina almost sticks her elbow in his ribs to get him to stop but he does so she reaches for the popcorn bowl instead.

"Sure do, Looks like my daughter does too." Grace slightly winks at him before snapping her gaze back to the film. Gina nearly chokes on the kernel and Ricky's sitting up straight and narrow, his eyes wide. Ms. Porter pats Gina's back and asks her if she's alright. Gina coughs, "Actually mom I could use some water?" Grace nods in response and heads straight for the kitchen.

Then it's just Ricky and Gina again. Gina nervously plays with her fingers, Ricky clears his throat and they both avoid eye contact. Neither wanting to address the ever prevalent elephant on the room her mother just unknowingly dropped. The _we're not a couple but we sorta are except we aren't really because you're doing all this_ ** _and_** _joined the play to get back with your ex-_ elephant. 

"Did she really mail every guy she's ever had a crush on?" Ricky blurts, he never did all that well with silence. That's why most of the time throughout his childhood he was glad he had a soulmate he could talk to telepathically. It saddened him more than he let on that he only really heard that voice a select few times. But that didn't matter now, **_Soulmates suck_**.

Gina tries not to smile she really does, "Well she didn't do it on purpose. Besides, how do you even know it was her. Look at how shocked she is?"

"Wait what?" Ricky questions, looking from Gina back to the TV.

"Pay attention, Bowen," Gina replies, poking his arm. Ricky slaps her hand away and a cute smile threatens to take over his entire face. Thankfully her mom comes back just in time with her water and the watch continues. Ricky really does seem to be paying attention, taking in every detail of Lara Jean's coming of age and Covinsky's love story. He laughs at Lara Jean's adorable little mannerisms, he scoffs at nearly every Josh scene and melts with Peter's.

"Why is she so caught up on this Josh guy when Peter is right there? He's not even that cute." Ricky practically whines as he stares at the screen, Gina, however, is much too preoccupied with his focused profile. _I know_ , she thinks to herself with a sigh. It's only one minute of pathetic pining she allows herself before she focuses back on the movie. So much so she doesn't notice Ricky sneak a glance back.

"Oh team Peter all the way!" Ms. Porter exclaims. "Exactly!" Ricky agrees, Gina giggles when the two extend their arms over her to high five. They all laugh when the nearly empty bowl of popcorn falls out of Ricky's lap. Grace tells him he better thank his lucky stars it wasn't full and Ricky laughs because he's only 45 percent sure she's joking. Gina softly kicks him while her mother teases him which means he has to go cook the next batch, something her mother never would've done with a practical stranger in the past. _They're a guest they shouldn't have to do anything,_ Gina hears what her mom would've said in the past in her head so clearly. But with Ricky here for some reason, it's like he always has been.

Ricky chuckling on his way to the kitchen and her mother betting on how long it'll take him to find the popcorn brings her back. Gina smiles because it can't take more than five minutes, both Porter women laugh when nearly ten minutes later he calls (whines) to Gina that he can't find the popcorn and it's all, dangerously so, something Gina could get used to.

_Always, always, always  
Always, always_

* * *

* * *

**The Brewery**   
**November 23rd 2019**   
**7:46pm**

"Hey Gina" The two words interrupt her nervously playing with her fingers. it wasn't a habit she'd be conscious of until Ricky had told her about it a week ago and she'd been watching a horror movie over at his house, her thumbs twiddling in anticipation of the jump scare. He'd only given her fingers a quick glance and quietly chuckled at her 'predictability'. She remembered she could only look at Ricky in awe at that moment, if Gina Porter was one thing it wasn't predictable not to anyone. At least not until now. _Fuck..._

Gina shakes her head, "Hey."

"So what's up? Why coffee at 8 pm?" Carlos says pointedly to his mug as he shrugs off his scarf.

"Well..." Gina trails unsure of whether to continue or not. She had promised, signed a contract that said she couldn't talk about this with anyone. But on the other hand, _i feel like I'm gonna fucking burst_ , she'd never dealt with these feelings before. She hopes the internal struggle doesn't show on her face.

"Boyfriend troubles?" Carlos asks concern lacing his voice.

"Sort of," Gina says hesitantly, her head quirking with her words. Carlos's expression scrunches in confusion but leans forward with intrigue when she looks down to hold the mug of chocolate with both hands.

"So what is it?" He persists.

Gina takes a deep breath, "Ricky and I are fake dating."

Silence lulls over the table so Gina takes a hesitant sip of her hot chocolate while Carlos just blinks.

"I'm sorry..what?" The sophomore shakes his head in confusion practically speechless, a rare occurrence.

"Like we aren't dating..for real?"

"Is this a joke?" Carlos says hesitantly.

"I wish it was." Gina huffs while she stirs her drink with a tiny spoon that was delicately placed on the saucer.

"Wait-what?"

Then it all comes down on him like a dam breaking.

Weeks and weeks of pent up feelings, subtle touches, and the best performance of Gina Porter's life is revealed to him. She doesn't tell him about how she thought he was her soulmate and how that basically got everything started to begin with but how Ricky approached her with an idea. She told him about the deal, the contract, her new friends, Nini getting jealous (Oh that was obvious, that I noticed" Carlos interjected). She told him about the dance, the diner, endless lunches, movies at each other's houses, conversations on the phone that have no business going as long as they do (her moms words not hers), her feelings, **everything** (but the soulmate stuff, it just isn't the same without Ash and EJ).

Silence settles on the table once again while Carlos's widen eyes lessen as he rubs his forehead at the onslaught of information. To say he's shocked is an understatement but then remembers this is Ricky is the boy in question, it's bound to be complicated. The drama club drama is endless, he sighs.

"Wait, wait so you made a contract and one of the terms was not telling anyone?" Carlos asks after a few beats.

"...Yeah." Gina says bashfully.

"Honey." Carlos fixes her a look.

"I know" Gina tilts her head at him, frowning at his disposition.

"You gotta know how this story ends," Carlos tells her as he takes a sip of his beverage.

"Oh believe me I do." Gina nods, her eyes widening with caution. He shakes his head in response. "No I mean fate dating is **the** love story trope," Carlos emphasizes, the use of his hands expanding the words with him. "one way or another you and Ricky are on this one track collision course right towards each other."

"What? No t-that's insane." Gina stutters, settling her cup down. _It's impossible_ , her family is literally cursed. The curly haired girl thinks to herself, no way does her story have a happy ending, at least for romance it doesn't. _It doesn't even matter because he isn't mine, to begin with._ Then she thinks of the night of the homecoming dance in his car _,_ Ricky telling her that he doesn't have a mark. The disappointment settling in her stomach like it did that night brings her back, _he isn't yours._

"People don't tune into the TV show or the movie or the play or whatever because they know who's gonna end up together, it's how they do finally get together that matters.' Gina's fingers play with the ring on her finger, "So you and Ricky? this whole thing about not ending up together? Please. It's not a matter of whether you do but how...and when" Carlos finishes.

"Life isn't a movie, people are messy and complicated. Do you really think it always happens this way?" Gina says, in awe.

"I don't know...I can't always tell for sure, straight people are weird." Carlos dismissively adds.

"I know" Gina pouts, wishing it could be easier. "I'm sorry I just poured all this on to you. I just had to tell someone I felt like with all these feelings, I was gonna explode. I've never been in a relationship much less a fake one so I don't know what to do."

"It's okay I promise. I'm glad you trust me enough to tell me and I'm glad we're friends" He replies, Gina smiles. _I'm glad I told you too,_ she thinkstoherself finishing her drink. "Look I'm new at this whole soulmate thing with Seb but I know I have him to turn to, to figure it out together." Her eyebrows furrow in response.

"I can't tell Ricky about My soulmate. I can't even tell him about this!" She exclaims with a sigh.

"Why?" Carlos asks leaning towards the table.

"Because he's in love with somebody else! He wants someone else, we're doing all of this for someone else Carlos. He would've called it off by now if there was anything here but there isn't. These feelings... they're just all in my head I just-I don't know. I have to-" Gina rambles, tearing the napkin in front of her to pieces.

"No don't do that, don't try to bury your feelings just because you're scared of being rejected." Carlos admonishes plainly, shaking his head.

"I just I don't know how long I can keep up the act when I'm not sure I'm even acting anymore." Gina softly says, her eyes shining with unshed tears. She blinks them away when Carlos casts her a sympathetic look and takes her hand in his.

_You're in my head  
Always, always  
I just got scared  
Away, away_

A comfortable silence passes between them both while snowfalls on the window stoop outside the cozy coffee shop, "Why does he get to be the one that calls it off?" Carlos gently asks.

"What?" Gina practically whispers.

"What if you decide to call off fake dating?" He asks again, her hand still in his.

Gina would be lying if she said she hadn't thought about it. No less in moments these coming weeks when she looked at him and thought her heart was gonna burst she'd thought about why she'd been putting herself through this torture. But then she thought about lunch and her new seat next to Red (and Ricky of course) and all the new friends she made. She might not lose them when she loses Ricky she knows that but things will be different, if she calls it off now is she just putting off the inevitable, or _will it just make things worse now?_ the curly haired beauty thinks to herself as she watches the snowfall.

"I don't know...maybe I should."

"No matter what happens I'm here and I know things are gonna work out," Carlos says, squeezing her hand, and a small smile tugs both their faces before he lets go to take their mugs back. Gina looks at the empty seat across from her and hopes he's right.

* * *

* * *

**The Porter Residence**   
**November 30th 2019**   
**8:12pm**

Ricky doesn't actually realize he's skateboarding to Gina's house until he's only a few blocks away. He doesn't mean for it to happen really. One minute he's hanging out at Red's and everything's fine then he gets a text from his dad and suddenly he's skating from sidewalk to sidewalk unsure where to go. Anywhere but home. So it brings him to a familiar setting. It doesn't hit him until he sees the rainbow colored bicycle on her next door neighbors lawn. He takes out his phone and see's his favorite contact list, Nini front, and center. He looks back up at Gina's house few paces ahead and skims through his contact list to find her.

"On a scale of one to ten, how bored are you right now?" Ricky greets her, looking at the azaleas in front of her porch.

"Hello to you too," Gina responds jovially.

"Are you home right now?" Ricky asks observing the tree around the window he hoped led to her room.

"Yes? Why...?" Gina curiously asks, her eyes looking down toward her feet brushing the soft fabric of her light blue carpet. She hears shuffling on the other end of the line and she notices his breathing a little harder, "You're not about to break rule number one in the contract are you?" The curly-haired sophomore asks with a hand on her hip and a smile she's glad he can't see.

Ricky recalls the first 'rule' in their contract. Ricky will not text about plans without a heads up first, he technically isn't breaking any rules. He's giving her a heads up right now. "Those aren't really rules, more like soft guidelines," Gina rolls her eyes, "And anyway that depends."

"On what?" Gina asks amused.

She hears him loudly exhale, "Turn around"

_I know there's nothing left to cling to  
But I'm still calling out your name  
You're in my head  
Always, always, always_

Gina's head snaps up from the ground, she slowly turns to her window and sees a slightly disheveled Ricky with a skateboard sticking out from behind his head, clinging on to the tallest branch closest to her window. He smiles so brightly she almost wants to turn away but she doesn't. Instead, she opens her window, "Ricky the hell?!" Gina says through a laugh. She's both parts concerned and astonished as she guides him from the branch and into the safety of her room.

When he finally stands in front of her, accomplished smile on his face that essentially spelled 'ta-da!' she smacks his arm. "Ow!" He exclaims while she rolls her eyes at his theatrics. "You could've gotten hurt getting up here dummy." Gina says crossing her arms, "Also you could've used the front door that my mom actually likes you"

Ricky shrugs, "This is more fun." He removes his skateboard tucked into the back of his hoodie and takes in the different pastel colors, the pinks, whites and blues it all feels like her. From the movie and theater posters on the wall to the cute plush toy on her bed and the picture of her parents on her bedside table. _It feels like her,_ the junior thinks while he sits on the fluffy blanket on the edge of her bed.

Gina notes his skateboard in hand, "What are you doing here? She asks suddenly feeling like she was under a microscope, her arms crossed around her figure. Ricky hadn't been in her room yet for a reason. Her talk with Carlos had put things into perspective. She was doing a lot with Ricky and she had to set some boundaries somehow, the contract clearly wasn't enough. It all felt really...personal.

"I'm here to take you to the skate park to learn how to skateboard," Ricky says, his eyes finally moving from miscellaneous objects around her room to her, full of hope.

"I don't remember this being part of the contract." Gina questions, an eyebrow quirked.

"It wasn't," Ricky replies with a mischievous grin that she surprisingly can't say no to. _Oh, man Porter, you're in deep_ , she lets out a deep breath and uncrosses her arms.

"I'll meet you outside in ten minutes, if I break my arm I'll find a way to break yours." He huffs out a laugh as Gina practically pushes him out of her window, he looks up at her and his grin is wider than anything she's ever seen. The urge to smile rises so she purses her lips and rolls her eyes. She brings the curtains together in front of her after she closes the window and takes a deep breath.

After that it's like a whirlwind one minute she's throwing on a sweatshirt and her converse hoping it's enough for the unbelievably cold front of salt lake city weather and the next she's telling her mother Ricky's waiting for her outside to head to the skatepark. "I'm sure we'll only be gone for an hour." Gina hears her mom scoff from the kitchen.

"Okay baby be careful," She feels the cool doorknob underneath her palm, "I love you." Grace Porter calls to her daughter. Gina pauses and walks back to the doorway of the kitchen. Her mom's wiping down a couple of wet dishes, she turns around and smiles at her. _This is home now_ , her mom's home more often.

"I love you too mom." Gina softly smiles, a beat passes then she nearly rushes to where Ricky stands outside on the pavement practicing tricks on his skateboard. He's smirking at her when he notices her flushed, it changes to a subdued smile when he sees this look in her eyes. What's up, Porter?"

"What do you mean?" Ricky nods to her face in response and she blinks at the fact that he'd noticed. She puts her foot loosely on the skateboard and pushes it back and forth. "I don't know. It's kinda like what I mentioned to you before." He motions for her to continue while he rests his foot on the opposite end of the skateboard. "The house is starting to feel like home. It's different but it's..nice." She softly admits, her gaze focused on the skateboard beneath her foot.

Ricky looks at her profile as she looks down. Her slightly pink cheeks in the cold, the coils and curls moving with the wind, the curve of her jaw, he's inclined to agree. _It is nice_ ,he thinks to himself.

They spend half the night giggling over themselves, its mainly Ricky laughing at the fact that Gina stumbles on the board every so often but every single time he's always there to catch her. "Why do you find this so funny you sicko?!" She complains after she'd had enough of him chuckling to himself the first four times.

"Because you're literally good at everything Gina," Ricky says in playful exasperation. "It's nice to know you're just like the rest of us, although at this rate if you keep practicing you might actually get the hang of it."

"I bet you I'll be better than you in a month."

"I don't wanna take that bet. I'm gonna lose" The junior scoff incredulously while holding her forearms. Gina's eyes widen in response, she nearly falls when she shakes in laughter, "Please Ricky I was kidding! I would not be able to learn this in a month, there's no way you think I could."

"I don't know I wouldn't bet against that Porter girl." He shakes his head, looking down at her legs to make sure her form is okay and her cheeks hurt from smiling so much.

It's no wonder they end up on the concrete laughing like maniacs, their hand's inches from one another the entire time. Gina lets out a breath and looks at the stars above her. The sky spelling out all kinds of constellations.

"You ever think about how all this soulmate stuff is basically something that was already decided. It's like something you can't change..like it's written in the stars or something."

"wow If I knew skateboarding would get you all philosophical maybe I should've taken you sooner."

"I'm serious." Gina laughs, punching his arm for the second time that day, he yelps dramatically of course and she ignores it. Opting to look back up at the bright lights ahead of her.

"I used to like that about soulmates." Ricky admits after a few beats of silence, to the cold night air, to the stars, to her.

"What? That they couldn't change?" Gina inquires.

"Yep. There was one person in the entire world that's supposed to get you guaranteed. I don't know something about that always just appealed to me I guess."

"And so now you just changed your mind about the whole thing because you don't have a soulmark?" Gina finishes for him. Ricky casts her a confused look beside him when it hits him like a freight train he'd told her he didn't have a soulmark, **_like an idiot_**. He'd told red about them fake dating too and didn't tell her about it, yet another lie to top everything off, _like a colossal dumbass_ the teen thought to himself.

"Something like that" He mumbles guiltily, now looking up at the stars instead of her profile. Gina hums in contemplation while their hands inch ever closer to the other, pinkies barely grazing.

"My dad was really into the whole soulmate thing. Told me stories about it and everything when I was little. My mom never really like that."

"What? Rom com enthusiast Grace Porter didn't like the idea of soulmates?" Ricky asks in mock incredulous, he nearly sits up in shock while Gina laughs. Ash and Him had gotten into this debate whether Rom com plots that didn't use soul marks would still be entertaining if they had. Ricky of course argued that people naturally found their way to each other was more entertaining than being together out of 'obligation' as he so lovingly put it. Ashlyn had just as sharply gathered him and argued soul marks would only emphasize the power connection between two people. it was definitely a memorable lunch in Gina's eyes.

"Please I still don't know if she's bought into the whole idea and neither do I think." Ricky's eyes snap back to her profile, "Really?" he asks, his brows furrowed.

"Yeah my mom has been kinda teaching me the exact opposite of the soulmate rhetoric my dad's been feeding me since day one, I don't know I guess she won." She shrugs now meeting Ricky's gaze.

"That's an odd way to put it." His nose scrunches, _in an unfathomably cute way that should not be allowed,_ Gina softly chuckles, "It is isn't it?"

"I get it though I think I gave up on it pretty early on too, my parents would fight a lot. When my mom left to her supposed 'soulmate' in Chicago earlier this year, that was probably the nail on the coffin to my views on the whole soulmate thing."

"I mean if people want to be together, they'd be together you know. You have to work at it that's what love is all about. It's about working at it with someone you want."

"and someone who wants to work at it with you." Gina adds looking back at the sky.

"Yeah" Ricky breathes out, his eyes fixated on the slight tinge of pink on her cheeks and the hint of red on the tip of her ears. She looks beautiful. **_She is beautiful_**.

A comfortable silence settles over the pair as they walk back to Gina's. The kind that envelopes the air after you've told someone your deepest secrets and don't know what to do or say next but it's all okay because you trust each other, you get each other.

Gina shivers as the night air hits her tenfold like she'd hoped it wouldn't earlier in the evening. Ricky's skateboard feels heavy in his hand when his eyes move from her figure to the ground and back again. He feels himself shrug off his jacket to put over his shoulders before it actually clicks in his mind he's doing it and his skateboard feels lighter in his hand. The warmth of the jacket is something she feels all over, _solely from the jacket,_ her mind reminds her.

They get to her door sooner than he thought they would. Time for some reason felt like it was sweeping right by and Ricky wished it would slow, probably because he hadn't wanted this night to end quite yet. "Goodnight Ricky." Gina tells him with the same smile painted on her face, the same glimmer in her eye that he'd seen that night after homecoming.

Ricky turns, looking down at the cobblestones beneath him trying to draw up the courage to finally call to her before she slips right through the door. "Gina" He'd probably said it a little too loudly because when she turns she blinks at him so before he can really think about it he takes the three steps remaining between them and kisses her cheek. His lips tingle and his shoulder burns, the lights of her porch are off but he can see her bright eyes widening clear as day.

"Goodnight Gina" Ricky says, confident grin and head tilted slightly.

He can't really breathe when he steps away and realizes he's still inches away from her lips, so he backtracks toward the familiar azaleas. "Goodnight Gina" Ricky says, with a new found confident grin and head tilted slightly. Gina turns to face the red door but then looks back at the boy that stirred all these feelings inside her and finally chooses to see where this took her. Carlos was right she could call it off if she wanted to, _I don't want to_. She smiles when she heads inside.

Ricky walks back to his house feeling full. Buzzing everywhere with a weird feeling the would trail from his right shoulder right where his mark was to the rest of his body right down to his toes. He looks back up at the stars and breathes, hoping more nights felt like this. Like those moments that people in musicals broke into song about, the feelings being so overwhelming yet so calming that it made him feel, **_alive_**. He finally understood what Nini was talking about when she argued with him about it.

So caught up in his emotions and the events of the night he hadn't even realized his phone was blaring a familiar sound. He smiles when thinks of the girl on the other line until he pulls his phone out of his hoodie and see's the picture.

A beat passes and his phone still rings the usual tune until he thinks about how his mother is probably tired of being the only one who wants to work at this.

"Hey mom."

_Always, always, always_


End file.
